The Descent of Orpheus
by x-kali-x
Summary: Minako Arisato has no idea why she's alive, but she needs to know what happened to the seal she left behind. Insistent that SEES not know she's back, she turns to an old friend and recent persona user for aid. Meanwhile Mitsuru Kirijo has detected shadow activity in Inaba and is determined to discover what exactly is going on, setting their paths on an inevitable crash course.
1. Chapter 1

The desks were caked with an inch of dust. This was hardly surprising; it had been years since anyone had so much as cracked open the door to the lab, but Mitsuru Kirijo didn't let that bother her. The door creaked loudly as she opened it, and as the lights flickered to life they revealed a bank of old machines. The lab was scheduled for clearing the following week but she'd been unable to get rid of it without one last look.

The computer sputtered slowly to life as she pressed the button and she waited patiently for it to turn on. The screen glowed white, the logo of the Kirijo group standing out in black against it, spinning slowly as the machine booted up. Finally, she was able to log in and began to load the required programmes.

Mitsuru hesitated only a moment before finalising the process, and then she waited once more. She expected nothing to happen – she _wanted_ nothing to happen. If nothing happened, then they could all just keep going as they had for just over two years now.

But then the machine let out a low blip, registering the readings from the various, complex pieces of scanning machinery that no one had quite got round to powering down.

_Increased Shadow activity_ the screen read. _Location: Inaba_ Inaba? That wasn't too far away from Port Island, all things considered. Mitsuru felt her blood run cold as she looked over the data.

They'd never even seen the occasional spike, for years there had been nothing and the machines had eventually been powered down, the programme dropped. Yet now they had readings of near constant shadow activity over the past few months. This warranted investigation, and she considered, for a moment, bringing in the team.

But that would be difficult. They were spread out now, at various universities both nationally and internationally, and it could take days or even weeks to collect everyone in one place. No, better to check it out with a smaller team first, and bring in the rest if anything serious did come up.

So who should she call? It was summer, meaning most of them would have finished their studies for at least a little while, but who was in the best position to join her in Inaba?

Not Fuuka, certainly. Yamagishi was currently studying abroad, and she was due to start a summer placement. Mitsuru would only call on her if the need was truly desperate. Yukari and Aigis, then? The pair of them were living and studying in Tokyo. Aigis certainly, would be free to join her, but it was possible that Takeba's work kept her too busy even during the summer.

Her best bet, Mitsuru decided, were those with more flexible jobs – or even no jobs at all, those who had other means to support their learning. That left her with three obvious candidates, and a fourth, if Ken could pick him up on the way. That settled Mitsuru strode out of the room, phone at her ear. She had a lot to organise if they were to get to Inaba swiftly.

* * *

The blackness encroached upon her vision slowly, and she became aware of the pain in her arms and the stiffness in her shoulders. She blinked, and suddenly everything was blue, and her arms and legs felt as though they were on fire. She screamed, and fell from the chair on which she found herself. She wrapped her arms tightly around her body, the sudden rush of sensation proving too much for senses that had become dulled by death.

"Mistress Minako," a familiar voice said, and a cool hand reached down and rested against her forehead.

"Th… Theodore?" she stuttered, her voice sounding distant in her ears.

"Yes, Mistress Minako. Can you stand?"

"I… I don't know." His hand took hers in a strong, firm grip and he pulled her up to her feet. She found her legs wobbly, but otherwise able to bear her weight.

"There are some clothes for you over there," Theodore said, and Minako realised that she was naked. Strangely, this didn't particularly bother her. She'd been the seal for so long that having her body back was a novelty, the squishy flesh giving way so much easier than the stone she had been. She slipped into the clothes and shoes, noting the scars on her arms and legs before turning back to face Theodore who held out a black book.

"The master has instructed me to allow you a full selection, free of charge," he said, "Although you may find some pages… missing."

He was right. The book was far thinner than it had been, with many pages torn out from the spine. Turning straight to the last page, she sighed with relief to see Orpheus Telos remained, and she placed a hand on the page, feeling the persona flow from the book and into her heart.

Who else, she thought as she flicked through the pages. Thor was gone, she saw… and Loki. Surt, Alice, Jack Frost, Pyro Jack… the list went on. "Where did they go?" she asked.

"They have answered the call of another – I believe you watched his progress quite intently," Theodore explained, "However those he never fused remain, as well as those individual to you, Mistress Minako. The memories of what you saw upon the seal will come back to you soon, I am sure."

She nodded, and began to make her selection.

Helel was still there, and she felt tears sting her eyes slightly as her mind turned to Akihiko. Pressing a hand to the page, she took the persona in and flicked through the pages once more. Odin. Messiah. Thanatos. Norn.

She closed the book and held it to her chest, the presence of the personas that remained within oddly comforting. "You will need this as well." Theodore was holding out her evoker, and the thigh strap she'd used to hold it in place. She took them, absentmindedly wondering how Theodore had come to possess them.

She followed him out of the room and found herself in a more familiar part of the Velvet Room – the lift was heading down, however, and there were people she did not know. She didn't hear the words spoken around her. Instead her eyes were drawn to the young man sitting in the chair – in _her_ chair.

"I would like to introduce Mistress Minako," Theodore said to the boy, bowing slightly in his direction. "I think the pair of you will find you have much in common." Carefully, she handed the compendium back to him. "You have made your selection?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied, "Thanks, Theodore."

"As usual, any time," he replied with a smile.

She turned to examine the boy once more, just in time to see him fade away, falling out of the dream that had brought him to the Velvet Room.

"And now it is your turn to go back, Mistress Minako," Theodore said, smiling to her.

"But I can't," she tried to explain, her mind still fuzzy. "I'm the seal, I have to stay there. I can't go back." But it was too late. Only a moment later she had found herself standing alone on a street corner in the middle of a vaguely familiar city, with no way to return to the Velvet Room.

* * *

Yu was asleep. He knew he was asleep, but then that didn't particularly explain his surroundings. Everything was blue, a deep shade that was hauntingly familiar.

Yet these weren't the furnishings he'd come to associate with this particular colour. To begin with, they were far more spacious and while there was a feeling of movement, it was a lurch in his stomach rather than the more familiar feeling of a car on the road. In place of the usual, well upholstered interior he found himself in what appeared to be a lift – a lift that was travelling very rapidly down.

Before him, of course, sat Igor. As usual, the master of the Velvet Room had has fingers steepled beneath his overlong nose, and he was smiling at Yu from behind his gloved hands. "Welcome, once more," he said, "To the Velvet Room. I imagine you weren't expecting to see us this fine evening."

"I'd have to agree with that," Yu said, glancing around. He was sat in an oddly designed chair, with the double doors to the lift behind him. There were other doors, although they didn't seem to lead anywhere – they simply stood freely, two either side of Igor.

Margaret also stood to one side, slightly behind the Master of the room, and in her hands was a large brown book – the Persona Compendium. His heart skipped a beat at the sight of it, and his eyes narrowed as he glanced at Igor.

"What is this about? I thought we were done with that?"

"Oh that chapter in the book is closed," Igor assured him, "But with time a new one must open. There are still truths out there that the human mind is ignorant of, and _you_ have the power to bring them into the light."

"Please," Margaret said, holding out the book, "Make your selection."

Slowly, he reached forward. He still held some personas within him – those he'd used in that final fight against Izanami-no-Mikoto. "Same charge as usual I suppose?" he asked drily.

"Free of charge," Margaret replied, smirking slightly. "Just for you."

He opened the book and saw that it was exactly as he'd left it. There were some empty pages scattered throughout, but most were filled with detailed ink drawings of the various personas he'd fused, and a description of their abilities all penned in what he assumed was Margaret's flowing hand.

He examined the book and the personas within him. He retained Izanagi no Okami, of course, and Mugatsu Izanagi. Of the others, he dismissed all but Ishtar from his mind, and called forth Kaguya, Mahakala and Loki in their place.

A door to one side opened as he closed the book and handed it back to Margaret. Two people came entered the Velvet room, both wearing the same shade of dark blue. One, a man who looked very similar to Margaret, was clearly another member of Igor's little crew. Perhaps Margaret's brother? Yu thought she might have mentioned him a couple of times.

The other was a young woman in a simple blue dress – Yu guessed she was maybe a year or two older than he was himself, and she was looking around nervously.

"I would like to introduce Mistress Minako," the man in blue said, bowing slightly in Yu's direction. "I think the pair of you will find you have much in common."

Minako nodded at Yu – a quick, nervous greeting, and it was only then that his eyes spotted something she was clutching tightly to her chest. It was a book, similar in size and shape to that Margaret held, only black. As he watched, she handed it carefully to the man in blue. Once empty, her hands jumped to her arms, rubbing them in a self-conscious fashion. They were covered by the sleeves of her dress, but Yu wondered if perhaps there was something more to this girl beneath the fabric, something she was hiding.

"You have made your selection?" the pale man asked.

"Yes," she replied, "Thanks, Theodore."

"As usual, any time," he replied with a smile.

The room began to fade away around Yu, the blue bleeding to black, and the last thing he remembered was a pair of intelligent red eyes looking him over, analysing him as he fell from that place.

The buzzing of the alarm made him jump, and he scrambled for his phone to shut it off. It took him a moment to remember quite where he was, but when it came to him he smiled.

He was back in Inaba for the summer. Absently, he realised he could hear movement downstairs – probably Nanako in the kitchen, Dojima would have left already. He thought back for a moment on his dream, but the details were already fading from his mind which was odd. Usually, the dreams about the Velvet Room stuck with him.

He tried to bring the face of the girl – what was her name again? – to mind, but found he couldn't. Maybe it had just been a dream? A reaction to his return to Inaba, perhaps? He put the thoughts to one side, and concentrated instead on getting out of bed.

* * *

As the train pulled into the station, Ken Amada thought back on the unexpected phone call he'd received earlier that morning. He heard from the others fairly regularly, of course, but this was something new.

"Come on, Koro-chan," he said, glancing down at the dog sitting beside him, "Let's go." Hitching his bag higher up onto his shoulder, Ken boarded the train, and together he and Koromaru looked for the seat Mitsuru had booked.

As Mitsuru had bought and paid for the ticket they were sat in first class, and there was plenty of space for both Ken and his bag. There would have been even if the car had held more than three people. Settling down, Ken watched as Iwatodai slid away to the side. Koromaru butted his leg, and smiling, Ken rubbed absently between the dog's ears.

Shadows again. It was unexpected – it had, after all, been more than two years since they'd defeated Nyx at the top of Tartarus. It was only just two years since graduation day. He could, like the rest of them, still remember the events of that day as though it had been only yesterday, although the pain had dulled since then.

He hadn't been with the others, but he'd caught up with them as they ran to the roof – or rather, they'd caught up with him, outstripping him easily with their longer legs. He remembered how bright the sun had seemed when he reached the door; how it had stung his eyes and, for a moment, blinded him.

The idea of fighting shadows without Minako leading the way was strange to him and Ken fought against the usual despair that filled him at the thought of her, and of how helpless he'd been to save her.

8888888

Rise collapsed onto the bed, exhausted. It was just a few more days until she'd be back in Inaba, and truth be told she couldn't wait. She loved her work, of course, but she loved being with her friends just as much.

There was a knock at the door, and she sighed to herself – five minutes alone was hard to come by at the moment but she'd been sure she'd be able to snatch at least a couple before anyone came looking for her.

Forcing herself to her feet, Rise padded through the suite and opened the door a crack. The face on the other side was not even close to what she'd expected. Opening the door fully, Rise took a shaking step backwards, her eyes wide with confusion and various different emotions running across her face. Her hands opened and closed at her sides, and she struggled to find the words to express what it was she wanted to say.

"Minako-senpai?" she finally managed to squeak.

The girl standing across from her smiled, "Long time no see, Rise."

"They told me you died!" Rise howled, leaping forward, her emotions bursting forth all at once, tears streaming from her eyes as she crushed Minako in a bone-breaking hug. "I was on tour, and Reiko called and said you'd died! There was a funeral and everything, but I couldn't make it. What happened?!"

"Erm… it's complicated, Rise," Minako said gently.

"Complicated!" Rise was beside herself. "It's been two years, senpai, where were you?!"

"I _was_ dead!" Minako said defensively. This brought Rise up short.

"What?" she hiccupped, drawing back, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Can we go inside?" Minako asked, "This could take a little explaining." Nodding, Rise moved aside so that Minako could enter the hotel room, and then shut the door. Minako didn't speak at first. Instead, she moved over to the window, resting her palms against the sill. Rise wondered if she was searching for the words.

Crossing her arms across her chest, Rise perched on the edge of the sofa and waited.

"I'm sorry to bring this to you, but there was nowhere else I could go." She was pacing back and forth, her hands running up and down her arms. She seemed to notice and crossed them tightly across her chest "You've fought shadows, right?" she asked at last. Of all the things Rise had anticipated, that wasn't one of them.

"How…?" she asked, her voice tailing away.

"I've been busy while I was dead," Minako replied, still looking out of the window. "I wasn't just lying around doing nothing. I could watch what was going on, sometimes. It was… peaceful. I saw you and your friends fighting the shadows, and you guys were amazing." She turned around at last, and there was a warm smile on her face that didn't quite spread to her eyes, red and sharp as ever.

"You saw that?"

Minako nodded, moving to sit at the other end of the sofa. "I'd been keeping an eye out for shadow activity," she said, "But I was surprised to see you there Rise."

"How did you know about the shadows? Did they… is that how you…" Rise couldn't get the word out, but Minako did it for her.

"Died? Sort of. You had your enemy to face, and I had mine. I sealed her away, but there was a cost to that."

"So how come you're back now?"

"I don't know, and that worries me."

"But it's a good thing!" Rise exclaimed, leaping to her feet, wrapping her arms around her friend and clutching her tight. "It's an amazing thing!"

Minako did not return the gesture, but instead slowly removed Rise's arms, holding on to her hands and looking her in the eyes as she spoke. "I had a job to do. If I'm not doing it… who is?" She let go of Rise and stared down at her hands for a while, silent.

"Was it that important?" Rise asked hesitantly. Minako nodded.

"Well then," she said, smiling. "You'd best come to Inaba with me in a few days – I know some guys who are really good at digging out the truth."

"Really?" Minako asked, her eyes lighting up for the first time since Rise had opened the door.

"Of course! And if… no _when_ we prove to you that you should stay here on Earth being not dead, then I get to say a really massive I told you so. Deal?"

"Deal." There was a brief flicker of a smile on her face.

"Did you fight with friends too? We could call them in, get all hands on…"

"No!" Minako exclaimed, eyes wide. "No, don't call anyone in! They can't know I'm back!"

"Why not?" Rise asked, taken aback. "They'd be just as happy to see you as I am, right?"

"That's why. Because I _have_ to go back," Minako said, stressing the word. "I _have _to. It's hard enough seeing you, being back here and knowing that. If I saw them then…." She swallowed, turned away. "I said my goodbyes two years ago."

* * *

Junpei was waiting at the bottom of the stairs when he saw Ken exit the station. "Yo, Ken!" he yelled, waving both his arms above his head. "Long time, no see little buddy!"

"Don't call me little," Ken said, frowning as he took the steps two at a time.

"Hmm, yeah doesn't seem to fit too well anymore. When did you get so tall?" Being only twelve, Ken was still far from his final height, but he was at least a foot taller than he had been two years ago, when they'd fought the shadows.

"It hasn't been that long since we last saw each other," Ken replied.

"Six months or so, right?" Junpei said thoughtfully. "Feels like longer though."

"Things going slowly where you are?" Ken asked.

"Yeah, but it's fine. Akihiko was right about police training – that stuff's hard. Good to see you to Koro-chan," he said, bending down to pat the dog's head. He barked happily, tail wagging eagerly from side to side. "Who else are we waiting on then?" He asked, glancing up.

"I don't know. One more, I think."

"Not Shinjiro-senpai, I take it, with Koro-chan arriving with you?"

"No. He's got shifts all week, but he said he'd cancel if we really needed him."

"He'd do it anyway, unless… unless Akihiko-senpai were joining us." As he spoke, Junpei straightened up, brushing his hands off on his jeans. Koromaru turned around and dashed over to the approaching figure, who held out a hand for the enthusiastic dog.

"Any sign of Mitsuru yet?" Akihiko asked as he reached them.

"Nothing. She said she'd send a car though." Junpei sat down on the stone steps that lead up to Inaba station, letting out a huff off air as he did so. "Shadows again, huh?" he mused. "Like old times." Silence followed his words, as each of them thought back, as they had so many times already that day, to the events of two years ago.

* * *

**I've had this sitting around in my documents for months now, and I only this week figured out what was irritating me about it, so I'm now in the process of fixing it. Hurray! :D This is an 11 chapter fic, possibly the first of a short series depending on how well it's recieved, and is mostly written already. It's just the slight edits/changes I need to make in order to please myself left really. **

**As far as names go, I tried to do it properly with -chan, -san, -kun etc, but honestly I just don't know enough about how the honorifics work and keeping who called who what in my head was a nightmare, so for the most part I've used first names = informal, surnames = formal, and kept honorifics in certain cases, such as nicknames (e.g. Yuka-tan, Minako-chin). **

**The story was named for the tale of Euridyce's death and Orpheus' following underworld descent, mirrored in stories such as (you guessed it!) Izanagi and Izanami. **


	2. Chapter 2

**A brief note on continuity: This fic assumes the timelines of P3P female version where Shinjiro lives but is _not_ a love interest. Furthermore, Chidori is dead in this timeline. It also follows P4G. Both Yu and Minako maxed all their social links, thus the Investigation Team all have their ultimate personas and the unique abilities that come with, Burning Petals, Dragon Hustle, etc, etc. The story _does not_ follow the story of The Answer, because I have not played this. Elements of the story may play a part, but the events of the game didn't happen. **

**I've taken all characters as lvl 99, and have done my best to balance the two teams but keep them different. So I used the fact that in P4G, you don't magically get 999hp/sp at lvl 99 like you do in P3P. This means that, in combat, SEES can take way more of a beating and deal out way more damage over a prolonged period of time without using items. On the other hand, the members of the Investigation Team have more varied/unique skills, so I feel this balances. I do have a persona ability sheet that I'll publish later (it'll be relevant in a few chapters, you'll get it then). Also, regarding the scanning personae, Rise is way more useful than Fuuka in combat, but doesn't have to scan as far, so I've given Fuuka the larger penumbra to resolve that difference without actively changing any abilities. **

**Thanks for all the feedback on chapter one, keep letting me know if you like it or if there are any elements you think I could improve/pick up on! xx**

* * *

Minako awoke in the morning to a soft pillow against her cheek. It was early, and Rise still slept over to her left – she had insisted Minako stay in her room once she'd learnt she had nowhere else to go.

Quietly, so as not to wake her sleeping friend, she swung her legs out of the bed and padded into the bathroom. The pyjamas Rise had loaned her were short, exposing her arms and legs and the red marks that criss-crossed them – the only sign that her time as a part of the great seal was something real. Rise had refrained from asking, but Minako had seen the question burning in her eyes and on her lips. She had not answered.

The blue dress Theodore had given her hung on the back of the bathroom door, and after a quick shower Minako changed into it, glad of the long sleeves that covered her arms, and of the black tights that hid the rest of her scars. She hadn't looked in the mirror yet, but she knew there were marks on her back as well.

"Minako-senpai?" Rise asked sleepily, sitting up, "Is that you?"

"Yeah, sorry – did I wake you up?"

"No, it's fine. I have to be up soon anyway, lots to do and all that. I'll call Yukiko later and book a room for you at the Amagi Inn."

"You don't have to do that," Minako said awkwardly.

"And where else are you going to sleep?" Rise countered, throwing off the covers and stalking across the room until she was only a couple of feet away from Minako. "I get that you don't want to stay," she said, her voice shaking slightly, "Although if you want me to help you are going to have to tell me the full story at some point." She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a count of ten. "I get that, or I really am trying to. But while you're here I'm going to help you."

"Thanks, Rise."

"That's fine. I missed you after you transferred to Port Island." There was an awkward silence.

"I missed you too."

"You had your new friends as well though," Rise smiled. "I get that. I've got my own group now."

"Yeah. We shadow fighters have got to stick together."

"Right on!"

"And I will tell you. I'll tell you everything – but I'll do it once we're in Inaba. I don't want to have to tell the story more than once."

* * *

"So this is where we're staying, huh?" Junpei said as he clambered out of the car.

"Indeed," Mitsuru replied, exiting from the passenger side door. When Ken, Akihiko and Koromaru had also extricated themselves from the backseat, the driver set off once more to park.

"I've booked the three of you a room to share," Mitsuru said as they moved towards the door, "With extra space should Aragaki join us at any point."

"This place has open air baths," Junpei exclaimed. Koromaru woofed at him reproachfully – as a dog, he naturally could not join them in the activity.

"Sorry man," Junpei laughed at Koromaru, "You'll just have to be good for half an hour or so."

"Be careful when you use them," Mitsuru countered icily, "I have no wish to perform any unnecessary executions." Junpei paled visibly, and nodded hurriedly. "Yes Ma'am," he said with a sharp nod. A slight smile curled Mitsuru's lips and Akihiko shuddered.

"What was that about?" Ken asked.

"Trust me," Akihiko muttered, "You're better off not knowing."

Mitsuru lead them inside, where they were greeted by a young girl in a blue kimono, her black hair held back in an elegant bun.

"Good afternoon, and welcome to the Amagi in, I'm Yukiko Amagi. How can I help you?"

"I have two reservations under the name Kirijo."

"Ahh, welcome to our inn, Miss Kirijo. Would you like to be shown to your rooms?"

"Yes, thank you."

"The open air baths are available for men until six tonight, and then for women until ten," Yukiko said as she lead them through the inn. "Will you be joining us for dinner?"

"Yes, thank you." Yukiko smiled and stopped by a door on the left hand side. "This is the first of the rooms you reserved."

"Akihiko, you and the others get settled in for today. We'll start business in the morning."

"Awesome!" Junpei exclaimed, "Open air baths here we come!"

Yukiko smothered a laugh and lead Mitsuru on alone. "I read about the disturbances in the area recently," Mitsuru said as they moved down the corridor. "The murders and the disappearances – I imagine they caused quite a significant loss of clientele for the Inn?"

"We did have some problems, yes," Yukiko said politely.

"Was there anything particularly unusual about the case?" Mitsuru asked, "It seemed to take some time for the police to settle matters."

"I don't know," Yukiko replied. "The police kept most of the investigation from the public eye. The murderer was caught, in the end."

"Yes, I know," Mitsuru said. "Although they never released any information on the manner of the killings, which they reported had confused the police some."

Yukiko did not reply, but stopped in front of another door. "This will be your room, Miss Kirijo. If you need anything, there is a telephone you can use to contact the front desk."

"Thank you for your help," Mitsuru said, and Yukiko bowed slightly before turning and heading away down the corridor.

The room was large, as Mitsuru had accommodated for the possibility of Yukari, Aigis and possibly even Fuuka joining her at a later stage. For now, however, it was just her. Reaching into her handbag, she drew out a shiny black box, and set it upon the low table.

Opening it, she looked down upon her evoker. The metal shone in the low light of the room, and her hand shook slightly as she reached down and picked it up, waiting a moment to be sure the Amagi girl was far enough away. The weight was familiar in her hand, and she found her heart beating a little faster as she raised it to her temple. Taking a deep breath, she squeezed the trigger.

Artemisia flared into being behind her, and Mitsuru focused her mind on her surroundings, sweeping the inn. She could feel the customers and the staff going about their business, and recognised Junpei, Akihiko and Ken already at the open air baths. Koromaru was there after all, sitting at the side of the pool. The four of them stood out more sharply to Artemisia's senses, as she'd long ago learned all persona users did.

Casting her mind back, Mitsuru's consciousness snagged on something else – there was another persona user in the inn! If Fuuka was here, she'd have been able to see, maybe even identify the individual, but Mitsuru's abilities in this field were limited, and she cursed under her breath. She could tell where the person was, but no more than that and the inn was too busy to isolate a single person.

The presence of a persona user confirmed shadows in the local area, however, meaning they were justified in their trip to Inaba. She'd need to do another scan in the morning, closer to the centre of town, to see if she could find any more persona users, or even a trace of shadow activity.

There was, she'd learned when reading up on the town that morning, a branch of a department store chain that the Kirijo group had recently bought out near the centre of town. Quite possibly she could use a private office for an hour or so at the local Junes.

* * *

"I'm telling you, she knows something," Yukiko insisted, sitting down on a cushion and passing around drinks. They'd met up at Dojima's, and were planning on heading out to Aiya for something to eat later on.

"I dunno, it seems you're just being paranoid," Yosuke replied, cracking open his can and taking a large gulp. "I mean, the murders were a national story, it's hardly surprising that people are still asking about them."

"I guess…" Yukiko said doubtfully.

"Well unless there was anything else that made you suspicious?" Yu suggested.

"I did get this really strange feeling," Yukiko said after a moment, a frown creasing her face. "Right down my spine. It was about five minutes after I'd shown her to her room – I felt like someone was watching me."

"You're definitely just being paranoid," Chie laughed, "Come on Yukiko, Yu's only been back twenty-four hours, and already it's like nothing's changed! Let's have a summer without any shadows, thank you very much!"

"Yeah. Sorry." Yukiko grimaced.

"Don't worry about it."

* * *

Mitsuru made sure they were all up and about bright and early the following morning, and they were on their way to Junes before anything Junpei would refer to as a reasonable time.

"Seriously," he yawned as they reached their destination. "Who wants to be up this early?" No one bothered to reply as Mitsuru lead the delegation once more, leaving Ken outside to watch Koromaru and seeking out a Junes employee.

"Excuse me," she said to the young man, "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, leader of the Kirijo group which owns the Junes name. I need to speak to your manager."

"Umm… I'll go… I'll go get him." He turned and hurried away, almost tripping over his feet. Junpei giggled, and Mitsuru shot him a withering stare, before following the sales assistant. They were taken to a 'Staff Only' door, and Mitsuru waited outside for about five minutes.

Eventually, the assistant returned with an older man, who moved over to Mitsuru.

"Hanamura?" she asked. If this was who she expected it to be then he was the manager for this branch of Junes.

"Yes, it's a pleasant surprise to have you visit us, Miss Kirijo."

"I'm not here on official business," Mitsuru said, "I merely wish the use of a private office for myself and my companions for an hour or so."

"That shouldn't be a problem," Hanamura replied, turning and leading them through the door and off the sales floor. "My own office will be empty for most of the morning, so please feel free to use it."

"Thank you," Mitsuru said, bowing her head slightly as they reached the door. She allowed Junpei and Akihiko to go in first, and then followed, closing the door behind her.

Once they were inside, she summoned Artemisia once more. She began by scanning the store, and was immediately brought up short. "There's a persona user in the building," she said after a moment. "Two rooms down to the right. He's alone. Akihiko, go quickly."

"On it," Akihiko replied, leaping to his feet and sprinting from the room. He passed the surprised manager and then burst through the door Mitsuru had indicated. It appeared to by a supply room of some kind, and there was a young sales assistant inside.

"Excuse me," Akihiko replied, "You're wanted in the manager's office."

"Erm… who are you?" the boy replied, frowning. He looked taken aback, and clearly he knew Akihiko was not a Junes employee.

"I'm here with Mitsuru Kirijo, who owns Junes. She wishes to speak with you in the manager's office. Now."

He led the boy back to the office, past the manager once more who looked very confused. "Yosuke is everything alright?" he asked. The boy shrugged, and headed into the office. He stopped just inside, standing very, very still.

Akihiko nudged him forward, and then closed the door. "You recognise that?" Akihiko asked.

"Is that… Is that a persona?" Yosuke asked, clearly dumbfounded.

"Yes," Mitsuru replied. "This is Artemisia, my persona. Using the gifts she grants me, we've discovered that there are other persona users in Inaba. We'd like to know more about you."

"Is there some secret society of persona users or something?" Yosuke asked dubiously. "Who are you guys?"

"Man, there totally should be a secret society of persona users," Junpei laughed, "That'd be awesome."

"We're just another group of those with the potential," Mitsuru said, as Artemisia faded away. She looked straight at Yosuke. "You have summoned your own persona before?"

"Well, yeah." Yosuke shifted slightly. "But I can't do it in this world – only in the TV world. How do you guys do it here?"

"The… TV world?"

"Yeah, with the shadows."

"The world of the shadows," Mitsuru said, tapping her foot slightly. "I suppose it would make sense that any new threat would come from a place where the worlds connected, rather than an encroachment such as Tartarus – the sealing of Nyx should have put a stop to that at least."

"Perhaps there was another God influencing the shadows this time?" Akihiko suggested. "How much contact have you had with the shadows?"

"Umm… quite a lot, actually. We fought a bunch last year during those murder cases – and there was a God. We defeated her. Well, Yu defeated her but I totally helped."

"Who was that?" Mitsuru asked.

"Izanami-no-mikoto," Yosuke said proudly, leaning back against the door. He seemed to have recovered from his initial shock at seeing a persona in the manager's office.

"Interesting," Mitsuru said thoughtfully. "How many of you were there?"

Yosuke hesitated. "I dunno if I should tell you that," he said after a moment. "I mean, it's their secret, not mine."

"We already know of your friend at the Amagi Inn," Mitsuru said, "Telling us now will enable us to meet on even ground, and will save me a great deal of effort."

"Then you tell me how many of you there are first," suggested Yosuke.

"Very well." Mitsuru smiled, and moved to sit in the manager's chair. "There is myself, Mitsuru Kirijo, and my friends here Akihiko Sanada and Junpei Iori." Akihiko and Junpei nodded to Yosuke, but didn't speak, allowing Mitsuru to continue.

"Also on our team we have Aigis, an anti-shadow weapon developed by the Kirijo company some twelve years ago. Ken Amada and Koromaru, a dog with the ability to summon a persona, are waiting for us outside of Junes. Completing the team are Yukari Takeba, Fuuka Yamagishi and Shinjiro Aragaki."

"Huh. So there's a few of you then?"

"I've told you about our team, now you tell me about yours."

"…Fine. Well there's me and Yukiko, who you said you knew about already… maybe I should have listened to her more last night." He shook his head and then went on. "Then there's Yu – he was our leader. He got back to Inaba yesterday, actually. There's also Chie, Kanji and Naoto," he ticked them off on his hands as he went, "Naoto as in 'detective prince', by the way. There's Teddie, who you have to meet really if you want to understand him, and Rise, who should be getting back to Inaba in a couple of days. And by Rise, I mean Risette," he added as an afterthought.

"Wait, you mean _the_ Risette?" Junpei asked. Yosuke was about to reply, but Mitsuru's icy glare shut them both up.

"Can we meet you and your friends at some point this week?" she asked. "I'd like to know more about your encounters with the shadows, and if you would let me I would wish to record your individual persona abilities."

"Why would you need to do that?"

"This is the second shadow event that has come to the attention of the Kirijo group, which means that there will probably be more over time. I will be re-commissioning and expanding the shadow detection laboratories, and the more persona users we have to call upon in the future, the better our chance at being able to tackle whatever they throw at us."

"I guess that seems a good enough reason. You could be there a while though. There are some pretty extensive capabilities to record."

"I would be surprised if it's more impressive than what we've already seen," Mitsuru replied coolly. "When will we be able to meet your friends?"

"Well Teddie's coming to visit tomorrow morning, so everyone'll be in the Food Court… I dunno, about ten I guess?"

"Fantastic," Mitsuru said, standing up. "We will meet you there tomorrow."

Without another word, she strode from the room. Akihiko followed, and Junpei held out a fist for Yosuke, who hesitated a moment before bumping knuckles. "Man this is so nostalgic," Junpei said as they headed out of the office together. "I haven't really talked about any of this stuff in years."

"When was your… um, 'shadow incident', then?" Yosuke asked as he and Junpei followed the others.

"A couple of years ago," Junpei replied. "We… well we don't talk about it much." Yosuke wasn't the most socially adept individual, but even he realised that perhaps now was not the best time to ask why.

"So, you beat up a God too?" Junpei said, turning the conversation away from his own experiences and onto Yosuke's.

"Yeah, she was all big and creepy looking and everything," Yosuke told him. "Seriously Yu used this special power he had on her and suddenly she was all skeletal and burnt."

"Sounds nasty." Junpei pulled a face as they exited the back of the shop and emerged into the store proper. "So you work here?"

"Yeah, my dad owns the branch. I was just about finished my shift though, so I'm free now. I could show you around if you want? I mean, it's Inaba it's not as though there's that much to see, but still."

"Sounds cool," Junpei nodded. "I'll get Ken and Koro-chan as well, furry monster could probably do with the walk."

"You guys have a dog that can summon a persona?" Yosuke shook his head. "That's mental."

"We also have an emotionally intelligent humanoid robot, don't forget that one. You not got any weird team members?"

"Well… Teddie I guess."

"What's up with Teddie?"

"You have to meet him to get it, honestly." He shook his head.

"Yo, Ken!" Junpei yelled at the younger boy across the yard. Ken glanced up, rolled his eyes and headed over, Koromaru at his heels.

"You could come over to me rather than attracting the attention of the entire car park," Ken said, slightly irritated.

"This is Hanamura," Junpei spoke over him, totally ignoring his comment. "He's a persona user too."

"Yosuke's fine," he assured them, bowing slightly to Ken.

"Then you can call me Junpei. Or maybe Junpei-senpai. I've been at this longer than you, after all.

"I don't even call you senpai, and you _are_ my senpai," Ken pointed out.

"That's harsh man," Junpei despaired. "No one cool has ever called me senpai. Though for that comment Ken, you are officially off the cool list."

"You obviously don't have to call me senpai," Ken said, grinning.

"No kidding, you're what, eleven?"

"Twelve," Ken said, affronted.

"And the midget grew about a foot in the last year," Junpei said. "Should have seen him when he fought, his pole arm was twice as tall as he was."

"Please don't call me that."

"Sorry, sorry. So, what's worth seeing in Inaba?"

"Right this way, gentlemen," Yosuke said dramatically, leading the way out of the car park. Koromaru barked in what might almost have been a resigned way, and trotted after them.


	3. Chapter 3

**So I've started expanding on what I already have, adding some new interactions and building some character based sub-plots. I'm glad people seemed to like the Junpei-Yosuke interaction, because I've been working towards adding more of that. :D Fight scenes will come, but I'm building up my setting first. In all likelihood, I'll continue publishing any further stories under the same fic title once the original 11 chapters are done rather than creating a new story, mostly because I like the title and I _hate_ naming stories with a burning passion. I'm just no good at it. **

**Thanks again for any feedback. Don't feel you have to be constructive to leave a review (but don't get me wrong, constructive criticism is always especially welcome!), just let me know what you like or don't like, as that gives me the best impression I can get going forward about what works best. Thanks, and enjoy! xx**

**Final note, for those who haven't played P4G. I'm using the characters as they appear in the epilogue for that game, i.e. they've grown during the game and are showing the results of that, so Kanji's got a new look, Naoto is starting to be more comfortable dressed as a girl, etc, etc. Also, Adachi's S.L was the jester/hunger arcana. **

* * *

That night, Akihiko found himself unable to sleep. He'd taken the futon by the wall and he could hear both Junpei and Ken shifting slightly in their sleep to his left. Koromaru was snuffling quietly by his feet but still Akihiko was wide awake, his mind stubbornly active.

He turned onto his side and resisted the urge to sigh. It was stupid that this should happen. It had been two years since Mina's death, but all the talk of shadows and personae meant he couldn't stop going over those events even when he was awake. He'd sworn to protect her, but in the end she'd protected them all; she'd been so unbelievably strong as she raised her hand to Nyx, and he… he'd just lain there like the rest of them, unable to do anything.

Shaking his head, he tried to dispel the images, but the floodgates were open and they spilled forth. He remembered graduation day on the roof, and how he'd held onto her even when he felt her heart falter in his chest, the beat irregular and fluttering weakly. He remembered how he'd clutched at her as it stopped and the panicked fuss that had followed as they raced to the hospital. He and Mitsuru had gone in the ambulance, and she'd looked so fragile as the paramedics bustled around her. So pale and still.

"_I'm sorry, we can't let anyone in to see her at the moment. Have you contacted her family?"_

"_She doesn't have any family," Mitsuru snapped. _

"_We _are _her family," Yukari countered. _

Still they had been forced to wait outside, and he remembered how the girls had supported each other as they sat on the ground in silence. He remembered Mitsuru's face, more vulnerable than it had ever been before, her eyes wide and pupils dilated. Her hands had opened and closed, but this was not a situation she could fix.

When Shinji had stumbled around the corner, Akihiko knew. There was no way he could have known where to come otherwise, and he knew Minako must have seen him on her way… on her way to wherever she had gone. He hadn't waited for the doctor to come back.

There was a funeral, private and small, but Minako had been popular – too popular for the small cemetery. So Mitsuru had arranged a memorial service in the dorm and sure enough it had been packed, half the school coming to see her off and more besides. There had been friends whose names he didn't recognise, people from her school before Gekkoukan, people whose faces he knew but whose names were foreign to him, and people whose names he half remembered from snatches of conversation.

There had been many tears shed that day. Tears for life lost and wasted potential. Akihiko had refused to cry, knowing that Mina would want him to be strong. After all, she'd been the one to teach him that sometimes the past had to stay in the past; she'd helped him mourn for Miki, and now he'd use those lessons to grieve again. Or he'd try, anyway.

He'd stood by the table they'd set up, now festooned with wreaths and bouquets of flowers – she'd hated roses, he'd thought idly. She'd have preferred much simpler flowers surrounding the picture Mitsuru had chosen.

People had moved up one by one to pay their respects – Hidetoshi from the student council, some members of the tennis club, an old monk supported by a younger man Akihiko thought must be his son, a strange, pale man dressed entirely in blue… the list went on and eventually it was just the remainder of SEES, standing alone in the too empty room.

Akihiko scolded himself. He'd made a promise to Mina after she'd died that his last memory of her wouldn't be in that last month, when she'd been so sickly and tired all the time. Instead, he promised to remember her as she'd been when they fought the Nyx Avatar, how she'd moved to her feet despite the weight that pressed down on them, and how she'd defeated a goddess singlehandedly. That was what she'd want him to remember, even if the guilt of that memory slowly killed him.

* * *

"I told you I felt something!" Yukiko exclaimed.

"Yeah, we should have listened to you. But don't you get it? They're a group of _persona users_. There could be more out there, loads of groups fighting shadows, all thinking they were the only one!"

"It would be interesting to learn about others with personae. I wonder if they found theirs the same way we did," Yu mused.

"I don't think so," Yosuke replied. "I mean, I mentioned the TV world to them yesterday and none of them seemed to have heard of it before. From what Junpei mentioned when we were wandering around in the afternoon, I kinda got the impression they fought in this world. I mean, he mentioned a train at one point."

"I'd have felt if anyone entered the TV, sensei," Teddie said firmly. "No one's been in except you guys since everything quieted down and I've been watching beary carefully."

"What about before though?" Chie asked. "How far back can you remember? If they've been able to summon their personae for two years they would have gone in back then?"

"I don't know," Teddie said thoughtfully. He was not in his bear costume, and was mulling over the question with the straw of his drink in his mouth. "I only remember being me for a short time bearfore sensei found me."

"What time did you say they were planning on coming?" Naoto asked from where she sat at the end of the table.

"About ten," Yosuke replied.

"Mitsuru Kirijo," Naoto said thoughtfully, "I've had some minor contact with the Kirijo group in the past – a couple of years ago, when I was drafted in to investigate the cases of Apathy Syndrome in Iwatodai. I wonder if that was related to their persona ability. If so, I think it's possible the local police force knew something about it – they were content for the most part to let the cases sit to one side."

"I remember that," Yu said, "There was all that stuff about an end of the world cult that came to nothing."

"Yes. There was quite the fervour for the cult in Iwatodai."

"Oh, here they are," Yosuke hissed, looking towards the end of the food court. There stood Junpei and the rest. Koromaru, recognising Yosuke, lolloped over and settled by his feet.

"The dog can summon a persona too, apparently."

"That's a little weird," Chie said slowly, looking at Koromaru with a startled expression as Mitsuru lead the small group over to them.

"Good morning," she said, her tone business-like. She took a seat at the table, and those with her hesitated before doing the same. They introduced themselves, going around the table and stating their names, and Mitsuru very quickly got down to business.

"I'd like one of you to come into a Kirijo Group facility at some point. We would like your account of the shadow activity in Inaba on record from a direct source."

"Probably best that Sensei does that," Teddie said, smiling widely. "He was the first to awaken his persona."

"And how did you do that?" Mitsuru asked, turning to survey Yu Narukami.

"It was awesome," Teddie said for him, eyes wide and shining. "There were shadows everywhere and he just summoned it, as though he'd always been able to do it."

"Yeah it was more complicated for the rest of us," Yukiko said, a blush rising into her cheeks.

"Tsch, tell me about it." Kanji had mostly been quiet so far, and Mitsuru spared him only a glance at his words. His hair was still very slightly blond at the tips, although his natural black was now the predominant colour, and his old tough guy look was moderated by the plain white shirt he wore and the glasses that perched on his nose.

"Interesting. So for the rest of you there was a process of some sort?"

"Yeah. We had to face our shadows."

"You saw your own shadow self?" Mitsuru's eyes widened and she pulled out a notebook and pen and then hesitated slightly. "I understand perhaps you might not wish to share with me the details of those encounters, but I would be grateful if you would let me know the abilities of your personae. We have nine current persona users in our database, and the more we can collect the better prepared we'll be for any future shadow incidents."

They went around the table, each of them in turn listing the various strengths, abilities and weaknesses of their personae.

"…Ooh! And I learned Bufudyne, right at the end," Chie said, finishing her list, leaving only Yu to talk of his abilities.

"And you're their leader, correct?" Mitsuru asked, turning to a new page and heading it with his name. "What is your persona called?"

"My main persona is called Izanagi."

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure I follow?" Mitsuru said. Her voice was suddenly brittle, and glancing around Yu realised that the others who'd arrived with her had frozen in place. Even Koromaru seemed to know something was up

"Sensei can summon lots of different bearsonas!" Teddie replied excitably and obliviously. Silence followed his proclamation.

"I see," Mitsuru said after a moment. Her grip on her pen had very suddenly tightened.

"What was it she always used to call it?" Junpei asked, looking down at his hands.

"Wild card," Akihiko muttered. "She always used to joke that she was our wild card." Mitsuru wrote the words haltingly beneath Yu's name, and snapped the book shut.

"I've heard it called that before," Yu said after a moment. He hesitated before going on. "Did she ever mention something called the… Velvet Room?"

"She did, actually," Junpei said thoughtfully. "She used to say it was where she fused her persona, but I just kinda figured it was a joke or something – she never went anywhere when she did it, just stood still for a while staring at nothing."

"Velvet Room?" Naoto asked. "Is this a place you're familiar with, Yu-senpai?" Naoto asked. Yu nodded.

"I think…" he was frowning, his brow creased in concentration. "I think I went back there recently. But I can't remember why."

"So there's a member of your team with the same ability as Yu?" Chie asked, "Awesome."

"There was," Mitsuru replied heavily. "Minako Arisato was our leader in the field. She died two years ago at the end of the shadow incident in Iwatodai."

"Oh… I'm sorry," Chie said lamely.

"Don't worry about it," Junpei said, smiling. "No way you could have known, right?"

"Right." Chie still looked unhappy.

"There is still one more member of your team, is that correct?" Mitsuru asked the group.

"Yeah, Rise," Yukiko said, nodding.

"She'll be back tomorrow morning," Yu said. "She's got a ticket booked on the train that comes in at half nine."

"Very well then. Given as all shadow activity in the area is clearly well guarded and under control, I think we'll stay long enough to talk to your friend, and then we can head off. As I said, I'd be grateful if you came in at some point to tell us of your full experience with the shadows."

"Of course," Yu said, nodding.

"Well, if that's all settled then we'll speak with you tomorrow. If anything comes up in the meantime, or afterwards, this is my direct line." She handed a small business card to Yu.

* * *

They split up after the meeting at the Food Court, and Yosuke, Yu and Junpei went to get lunch at Aiya, which Yosuke had promised to introduce Junpei to the previous day. "…and if you finish it," he said, explaining the rainy day bowl, "It's free."

"Sounds like my sort of dish," Junpei mourned, glaring at the obnoxiously sunny sky.

"I've only ever seen one person finish it," Yosuke said, pointing not so subtly at Yu, who smiled lazily back at them before taking a mouthful of noodles.

"So you've got the Wild Card then?" Junpei asked after a moment.

"That's right."

"Any cool persona?"

"Well right now I've got two versions of Izanagi, which was my first persona, although I have three different incarnations of him altogether."

"Minako-chin had two versions of her first persona Orpheus," Junpei said, nodding.

"Orpheus?" Yu asked thoughtfully. "That's interesting?"

"What's interesting?" Yosuke spoke through a mouthful of food.

"Orpheus and Izanagi are similar in mythology," Yu explained.

"Huh. So what did this Orpheus chick do then?"

"Orpheus was a guy."

"Oh. I just assumed it was a she because…" Yosuke gestured helplessly.

"Minako-chin's persona was definitely a girl," Junpei said firmly.

"Well either way, Orpheus went down to the underworld to seek the return of his love Eurydice. He used his music to soften the heart of Hades and Persephone, who told him he could save Eurydice and that she would follow him from the underworld. Orpheus was told he couldn't look back until they were both out of the underworld, but in his joy at leaving the underworld himself, he turned to look upon his love forgetting that she still stood within the other world. She vanished, this time forever."

"Man that's an awful story," Yosuke complained.

"So who else've you got?" Junpei asked Yu, returning to the story at hand.

"I've also got Kaguya, Mahakala, Ishtar and Loki."

"Mina had Loki," Junpei seemed surprised. "I guess you guys must draw from the same place or something? Oh yeah, the Velvet Room or whatever. Did you get Surt?"

"Yeah, but I tend not to use him all that often."

"Minako-chin said he was her strongest magician persona, that she only had him because of me or something."

"Yeah, I get that. Mada is my strongest magician."

"Is he the result of a special bond?" Yosuke laughed.

"Only if you consider what we have special," Yu laughed, raising a suggestive eyebrow. Yosuke looked momentarily stricken and then burst out laughing.

"Seriously, I'm your magician. How does that work."

"There are a certain number of arcanas," Yu said, "And everyone has one. Mine's arcana zero – the fool."

"That's telling right there," Yosuke laughed.

"It's what granted me the wild card," he replied with a shrug. "From the sounds of it, both of you fall under the magician, which is the first arcana." He paused for a mouthful of noodles.

"What, so you only hung out with me for my power?" Yosuke said, pretending to be affronted. "Seriously though, is that why you started hanging around with pretty much every one _ever_?"

"No. They had to be genuine bonds; it didn't work with just anyone."

"So who did you form them with?" Yosuke asked.

"The team… Nanako, Dojima, Kou and Daisuke… the fox."

"You formed a deep and meaningful bond with a fox?" Junpei asked, doing his best to keep a straight face.

"Apparently it's as meaningful as Yosuke's friendship."

"Hey!"

"They don't have to be meaningful in a good way. Hell I had one with Adachi."

"That's just twisted bro."

"Man, I wish I'd had the wild card," Junpei said wistfully. "Maybe that way I'd have been able to help…" his voice trailed off and he turned his attention to his food, eating ravenously. The silence that followed was weighed down heavily by the words he left unspoken.

"Dude," Yosuke said eventually, "You know in our fight against Izanami, she literally sucked me through the floor into a supposed realm of endless doom."

"That sounds nasty."

"Eh, it was short lived. Yu pulled me back out. That's the thing though, it's just what he does – I'm gonna go super-sappy mode now, so you can stop listening," he said to Yu, who held up a hand to indicate he understood and didn't look up from his noodles.

"Your friend, Arisato, sounds to me like she's your Narukami. It's just what she did. I'd bet she didn't hesitate to put her life on the line for you guys."

"Well… no."

"Right then, so you gotta respect that, right?"

"I… guess?" Junpei scratched at the back of his head, lifting his cap slightly.

"I was super jealous of Yu when we started up. He was all badass, with multiple personas and butt kicking – you'd better not be listening to this."

"Not hearing a thing, I swear," Yu replied, setting down his chopsticks and turning his rapt attention to his drink.

"Good. But you know, I got what I got and I played my part. I helped Yu save the world, and that's pretty kickass."

"Yeah."

"I bet she's happy you guys are safe, no matter what happened to her."

"When did you get so eloquent?" Yu said.

"Can it Narukami."

* * *

When the door opened, Minako jerked out of the half doze she'd fallen into. Her skin was icy cold and her hair was slightly damp. She'd been sweating, and she was out of breath. What had she even been dreaming about?

"Man it feels so good to be done," Rise groaned, falling back onto the bed. She'd finished filming that morning, and now there was the long process of editing the film before release, meaning she had some time to cool off before they expected her to start doing publicity work.

She glanced over at Minako. "Haven't you got anything to wear except that dress?" she asked.

"No, but it's ok. I'm pretty sure it's not a normal type of fabric. It doesn't smell, anyway," she grinned a little, and Rise shrugged, slumping back onto the bed. "Are you alright? You look pale."

"I'm fine," Minako assured her. "Just tired is all."

"It's a long way to Inaba from here," Rise moaned. "We're travelling for a good few hours, so consider yourself warned."

"I will do. Do you need any help packing?"

"Nah, most of what I needs already in my bag, and I've got clothes and stuff over there already." There was a comfortable silence that lasted maybe ten minutes before Rise broke it. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"What do you mean?"

Rise sat up, her expression serious. "I mean that you've been back about two days, right?" Minako nodded. "Well, if this job of yours is so important, surely something would have happened by now? Maybe you don't have to do it anymore; maybe you can just… live." She shrugged.

"I… I don't think so. I still _died_ Rise. This isn't my true body. That's either buried somewhere in Iwatodai or maybe scattered to the winds, and that's fine. I died two years ago, and this body is two years older than I was back then. That's two years I didn't live, and I'm reminded of that every time I look in the mirror. I _need_ to know what's happening at the seal. I'd never be happy otherwise."

"You will tell me what this seal is, right?"

"Like I said, when I meet your friends, alright?"

"Ok. And it was buried."

"What?"

"You. Your body. You were buried. I visited last year."

"Oh. Um – thanks, I guess?"

"You're welcome."

* * *

Junpei left after they'd eaten, heading for the bus stop to the Amagi Inn. Yosuke, with nothing better to do, decided to head towards Dojima's with Yu and catch up some. As they were walking, however, there was one topic that dominated his mind.

"So those arcana," he said thoughtfully, "That's what let you summon all those personas?"

"Personae," Yu said absently. "But it was more complicated than that." His voice was hesitant, as though he was unwilling to say too much about it. "They eventually gave me access to my most powerful personae though. It was strange; I didn't really know what they were at first."

"Is that why my persona got stronger when I hung out with you then?"

"I don't know. I think that was more to do with your own growth. Mind you it happened to all the team like that, so who knows."

"So if I'm magician, what does that mean?"

"Each arcana has an association," said Yu. "I read up on it when I twigged what the cards were based off. I think magician was action and self-confidence. Something like that anyway."

"Yeah, sounds about right. So what were the others?"

"Hmm? Oh, Yukiko was priestess, Chie was chariot, umm, Kanji was emperor…"

"Man that sounds awesome, I wanna be the emperor!"

"Yeah, but I never actually fused the strongest emperor persona."

"What? Why not?"

"Never had quite the right mix for a good fusion. Naoto was fortune and Teddie was star."

"I have no idea what most of that means, but you missed out Rise."

"Oh. Err, Rise was lovers."

"What, really?" Yosuke threw his head back and laughed. "That's actually ridiculous. Is that why you guys..?"

"What? No!" Yu protested. "That's because I liked her, not because some weird card magic told me to."

"Alright, alright." He held his hands up in surrender as they turned onto Dojima's street. "Still weird though. How come you never mentioned any of this before?"

"Honestly? I was nervous as to how you'd react." Yu shrugged. "I didn't make friendships for the sake of the powers, but I can see why it'd be easy to think that. Most of the time I sort of fell into them. A couple of times I got dragged."

"Oh? Like who?"

"Ei Ebihara."

"Oh man," Yosuke snickered. "You were a mess when she was around."

"She was alright in the end," he replied, shrugging. As they walked up the short drive, Yu glanced at the small allotment to the side of the house. Nanako had shown it to him the day before, beaming and explaining what she was growing. She'd played some tunes for him on the keyboard Dojima had bought her as well, and it made him smile to see how happy she was.

"Well, I guess I'll forgive you for not saying sooner," Yosuke said at last. "But only if you show me this Mada at some point."

"You've seen it."

"Dude, you have like a bajillion personas. Do not expect me to remember every single one."


	4. Chapter 4

**Updating early as I'm going away for a few days :) I've put the persona ability sheet at the end of this chapter. This is what I'm working off when writing battles, and it'll give you an idea of what sort of powers everyone has, particularly the P4 guys, where you actually get to choose their abilities to an extent. **

**Thanks again for the feedback, I hope you keep enjoying it :D**

* * *

Akihiko went for a run early that evening. He'd kept up his training of course, but what with traveling to Inaba his usual morning routine had been disturbed for a couple of days and he wanted to keep up his fitness.

He ran from the Inn all the way to the main street of the town, and was surprised to see a member of the Investigation Team sitting outside the Haberdashery. He slowed down, panting slightly. "Tatsumi, right?" he puffed, sitting down beside him.

"What? Oh, yeah that's me. You're Sanada, right?"

"Yeah. Strange to be getting ready to be thinking about shadows again after so long."

"You can say that again," Kanji grunted. "Is that why you're out running?"

"I always do this," Akihiko answered, shaking his head. "Might have to step my game up if any shadows do show though."

"Heh, let's hope not."

"I dunno, might be satisfying to punch their faces in a little."

"Woah, that's a little rough," Kanji said, taken aback. Akihiko shrugged.

"They deserve it," he muttered darkly.

"Man, you've got some serious issues there," Kanji whistled, pushing himself to his feet. "I gotta get back in before Ma comes out looking for me." He looked at Akihiko thoughtfully and shook his head. "You should keep an eye out for yourself. You shouldn't be looking for a fight." Kanji turned his back on Akihiko and lifted a hand in a goodbye gesture. "Later."

"Yeah, later." Akihiko picked himself up and ran on.

* * *

"Next stop is Yasoinaba station. Yasoinaba station, next stop."

"Come on," Rise said, pushing Minako to her feet, "This is our stop." For some reason, Minako's heart was beating fast, and her feet were like lead. Every step took great effort, and it was only with Rise nudging her forwards that she made it to the door. It slid open, and she hopped down onto the station platform.

"Senpai!" Rise shouted, dashing past Minako and jumping at a young man with grey hair. He stumbled slightly at the force of impact, but smiled and returned the hug with equal warmth.

"How are you?" he asked.

"Fine, fine! It feels so good to be back already! Heya everyone!" Minako stood back a little awkwardly as Rise reunited with her friends. She looked around; remembering them from what she'd seen watching their fight against the shadows and Izanami.

"And this is Minako," Rise said, and Minako started at the sound of her name.

"It's nice to meet you all," she said, smiling tentatively.

"We got any plans for the day?" Rise asked.

"Nah, we figured we'd head over to Junes, maybe stop at the food court," Yosuke said. "Nice to meet you," he said, holding out a hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Hanamura," she replied, smiling slightly as she took the proffered hand. He frowned slightly, and Minako realised he hadn't given his name yet. One of the boys, the one Rise had attached herself to, was looking at her strangely. Minako returned his gaze with steady eyes, and realised that this was Yu Narukami – the wild card. Did he remember her from the Velvet Room?

"You must be Narukami," she said, smiling. "Rise told me lots about you."

"Good things I hope," he laughed, glancing down at Rise, who frowned back at him.

"Like I'd have anything bad to say about you, senpai!"

"Good things only, I swear," Minako assured him. She glanced around the group, counting off heads as she went. There were a few people missing – Yukiko, Kanji and Teddie were absent, but Minako knew Rise would expect the promised explanation sooner or later. Realising that Rise was looking at her, Minako nodded very slightly.

"Shall we grab the others and head to the food court then?" Rise asked. "Minako's actually here for some help. I hope you guys don't mind, but I said we'd do our best."

"That is what we do," Chie replied, grinning. "I'm Chie Satonaka, but you can just call me Chie. Everyone else does." Smiling, Minako nodded.

"There are some people waiting for us at the food court, actually," Naoto said cautiously, her eyes flickering to Minako for a brief instant, "For rather a private matter. Perhaps someone could show your friend to the Inn, and we could discuss her problem later?"

Rise straightened at the tone and implication of Naoto's words. "Is this something to do with shadows?" she asked.

"Well done Rise," Yosuke said after a beat of silence. "That's excellent secret keeping right there."

"Are we not even trying anymore?!" Chie exclaimed, shaking her head.

"She already knows about the shadows," Yu said after a moment, causing heads to swivel in his direction. "We've seen each other before, haven't we?" he asked.

"In the Velvet Room," she replied, nodding.

"You're a wild card too?" Chie gasped, mouth agape. Then she frowned, and there was a look of dawning realisation in her eyes. Minako's palms began to sweat, although she wasn't quite sure why.

"Isn't that what Sanada called it?" Yosuke asked. Minako's head snapped towards him and she felt her legs begin to tremble. Akihiko was here? In Inaba? Did that mean the rest of them were here too?

"Minako are you alright?" Rise asked, letting go of Yu's arm and moving forwards to support her friend.

"Akihiko Sanada?" she asked softly. "Who else is there?"

"There were three others and a dog," Naoto replied, stepping forwards to get a good look at Minako. "Ken Amada, Junpei Iori and Mitsuru Kirijo." Minako felt as though her mouth were full of sand. All the moisture had vanished and she found it difficult to move her tongue. "You're their wild card, aren't you? Minako, was it? Kirijo said their friend was called Minako Arisato." Naoto's eyes narrowed behind her glasses.

"But they said she died, didn't they?" Chie pointed out.

"It's complicated," Minako said miserably, sinking onto a bench and putting her head in her hands. "Really complicated."

"But you're alive!" Chie said, holding her hands up and shrugging in confusion. "They think you're dead. Hurray, massive celebration time! Seems simple enough to me."

"They can't know!" she said vehemently. Although she didn't shout, her words were powerful. "You can't tell them. They can't know I'm here. I promise I'll explain, just… just don't tell them I'm back." Her voice cracked, and she hid her face once more. Rise put an arm around her shoulders and looked pleadingly up at Yu.

"Senpai, can we ask those guys to hold off today, I want to hear Minako tell the story first," Rise said.

"But shouldn't we tell them…"

"No!" Minako exclaimed again "Please."

"Things are never simple around here," Yu sighed.

"Please senpai," Rise begged, her eyes wide.

"Oh, it's the puppy dog eyes," Yosuke said, rolling his eyes. "He never says no to the puppy dog eyes." Yu shot him a dark look, but Yosuke just grinned back at him. "What, it's true."

Yu let out a long suffering sigh. "Alright then, but I'm only reserving judgement until we've heard your side of the story," he added, looking at Minako.

"Yes! Thanks senpai," Rise leapt to her feet and hugged him tightly.

"We'll go to the Amagi Inn and call them from there, tell them you'll speak to them tomorrow Rise, they want to document Kouzeon's abilities."

"We can get Yukiko as well," Naoto said, "And then we can try figure out what's happening here."

* * *

"Teddie's in the TV world and Kanji's running one of his classes this morning," Yu said as they settled down around the table in one of the Amagi Inn's smaller function rooms. "We'll have to fill them in later." He held his mobile in one hand, having just had a brief chat with Mitsuru, whose business card sat on the table before him.

Everyone was looking at Minako, and she found herself shrinking slightly under the scrutiny. Although she'd been unable to join them because of her work around the Inn, Yukiko had brought them all drinks, and she took a sip of her tap soda to delay a moment longer. "Ok," she said at last. "I'll start with a question. Would you believe me if I told you there were more than twenty four hours in a day?"

"No," Naoto replied.

"I dunno," Yosuke scratched his head.

"I've seen stranger things," Yu said. Chie and Rise hesitated, and then nodded in agreement.

"Well, when the shadows were in Iwatodai, we… that is, people with the potential, lived an extra hour every day at Midnight. We called it the Dark Hour." Having started, she found the story began to pour out of her, as though she'd broken some kind of barrier. She told them about Tartarus, and her team mates, speaking about the chairman and his betrayal following the defeat of the twelve shadows.

"There was a group called Strega," she said, "They were persona users too, but it wasn't a natural state for them – their personas were out of control. They were killing them." It hurt to think back on those days, more than she'd expected, but at the same time telling the story felt like a relief. It was like a wound that had festered throughout the days between the battle with Nyx and graduation day, something she'd held inside of her without daring to speak about it. Talking about what had happened to Shinji, to finally be able to tell the entire truth without editing out the Dark Hour… she'd not realised how much these things had weighed upon her the past few days.

"When we reached the top of Tartarus, the Nyx Avatar… well it was something else. It cycled through all the arcana one by one until she hit her true arcana, and nearly killed us a dozen times. We got it through, in the end. When it was defeated, Nyx itself emerged." Minako closed her eyes, remembering those final moments. "There was this huge weight pressing down on them, we could barely move… Then, I blinked and I wasn't there anymore. I was in the Velvet Room." With some help from Yu she had already spoken about the Velvet Room and Yosuke had even chipped in a little.

"Igor told me I didn't have to worry. The lift was going up, faster than it ever had before and he reminded me of something he'd said right at the beginning – that my friendships, the bonds I formed with others, would determine my potential." Silence filled the room, all of them hanging on Minako's words as she sought the right ones to tell the end of her story.

"He asked me to listen, so I closed my eyes and I could hear them…" She fell silent, and for a blink she was back in that moment, hearing them again. "When I got back from the Room, I stood up. And I fought it."

"Alone?" Rise squeaked. Minako smiled and shook her head. It was the first true smile Rise had seen on her face since she'd shown up outside her hotel room days before. It was a soft expression, and her eyes were closed with remembrance as she thought back to that battle.

"Physically… yes I was alone. But my team were all there with me, in here." She placed a hand to her heart. "Nyx attacked me, and it should have killed me. Then I could hear their voices calling out to me and telling me to be strong. They kept me going until I found the power of the Great Seal."

"This is the crux of the story, isn't it?" Yu asked, leaning forward. Minako nodded.

"The seal… it took everything I had. The moment I used that power, I died. I didn't mind though, we'd all climbed the tower that night knowing we probably wouldn't go back. The knowledge that everyone else could go back to the dorm that evening, sleep and go to school… that was enough for me and I only had the one regret. I'd promised them I'd meet them on the roof on graduation day. I held that thought in my mind, focusing on it as the seal formed and then I woke up on the steps to the school. Tartarus was gone and I was so tired."

"Wait… so you died but then you came back?" Yosuke asked.

"Until graduation day," she replied. "They all forgot, except Aigis. Mitsuru and Akihiko acted as though we'd never exchanged more than words in the corridor, Ken seemed to forget we even existed… Yukari and Junpei were still my friends, but if I mentioned anything even vaguely related to the Dark Hour or shadows they looked at me as though I was mad." She laughed hollowly, and it was clear that these were painful memories.

"But they know now or they wouldn't be here," Chie said thoughtfully. "What made them remember?"

"I don't know exactly what triggered it," Minako replied. "But I was on the roof. I was so tired," her voice cracked slightly. "Aigis was there with me – she'd skipped the ceremony to keep me company. She knew, somehow."

Talking aloud about that day brought the memories forth in a crashing tide, and as she spoke, Minako saw them. Once again, she lived them.

* * *

She remembered the sun. It had been so bright and warm against her skin, and sitting there on the roof with Aigis had been so simple. All she had to do was wait a little longer and then she could go. She was so tired.

She couldn't say why, but she'd known they would come. She'd known they'd remember what they had so far forgotten, and that had made every cold shoulder and every confused response of the past month bearable. When the door had opened, she'd had to strain herself to sit up, but he'd been there, gasping for breath as he ran towards her, enfolding her in his arms. "Are you alright?"

She'd nodded slightly against his chest, fighting back tears as he held her. "Thank god," he whispered, his arms tightening as she found the strength to raise her hand, gripping his arm tightly in return. "I couldn't find you, and I thought you might've gone off somewhere…"

She sniffed, closing her eyes tightly. She'd promised herself she wouldn't cry, that she would make sure they knew she was happy, and that this was her choice.

"I remember it all now," AKihiko whispered, "Everything that happened. Tartarus, the shadows… everything. I remember you. How could I have forgotten? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

There had been more footsteps then, and more people. All of them had run towards her, out of breath and straining. Warmth had filled Minako then, at the knowledge that they had come, and that they remembered. She hoped they would support each other now – she knew they were strong enough, each and every one of them.

"Everyone remembers now," he said, looking around the roof at the assembled members of SEES. He shifted, sitting beside Minako rather than kneeling – she found it more comfortable that way. Now she could lean against him, let him support her weight. Every part of her body was exhausted, and she was so tired.

Finding one last piece of energy, she turned to face the group. Their faces watched her with a mixture of hope, confusion… and fear. She smiled at them through her tears, finding each one of them in turn, trying to convey to them that she was not afraid to go.

Had her eyelids always been this heavy? "And starting now, we'll never be apart." His voice broke slightly. She could tell he didn't believe his own lies.

"Goodbye," she whispered, closing her eyes. She had no regrets.

The white changed to black, the warmth of his arms fading away, leaving her cold. Before her was a great golden door, engraved with six eyes. As she stood before it, they swivelled to look upon her and she found herself naked before them as barbed cords wrapped around her arms. She cried out as they lashed against her bare skin, pulling her feet away from the ground and raising her up to hang before the door.

Cold spread in a rush from her toes up to her face, and with the cold came numbness, and she found she couldn't move, couldn't even blink. She was fixed in place: a great seal to guard mankind against its own malice.

* * *

**X  
**

* * *

**Persona Ability Sheet**

This isn't necessary information, you'd get just as much from the story if you didn't read it, but I thought it'd be handy to include it either way. If nothing else, it'll give a good idea of what people are strong/weak against, or what level of shadow they could reasonably take on alone. :D

**Persona 3:**

**Aigis: ** Athena – Diarahan, Samarecarm, Akasha Arts, God's Hand, Dekunda, Marakukaja, Matarukaja

_ Null pierce, weak electricity (not countered)._

**Akihiko:** Caesar – Matarunda, Fist Master, Ziodyne, Marakunda, Diarahan, Masukunda, Maziodyne, Elec Amp

_Null electricity, weak ice (using Frozen Stone, Gabriel)_

**Fuuka:** Juno – Full Analysis, Oracle, Support Scan, Escape Route, Third Eye, Healing Wave

**Junpei:** Trismegistus – Spring of Life, High Counter, Fire Break, Agidyne, Brave Blade, Vorpal Blade, Marakukaja, Gigantic Fist

_Null fire, weak wind (using Storm Ring, Jatayu)._

**Ken:** Kala-Nemi – Spear Master, Ziodyne, Vile Assault, Hamaon, Diarahan, Primal Force, Samarecarm, Mediarahan

_Null light, weak dark (using Ring of Darkness, Thanatos)_

**Korumaru:** Cerberus – Agidyne, Masukukaja, High Counter, Mudoon, Mudo Boost,Maragidyne, Mamudoon, Fire Amp

_Null fire, null dark, weak light (not countered)._

**Mitsuru:** Artemisia – Diarahan, Ice Break, Mabufudyne, Ice Amp, Spirit Drain, Tentarafoo, Mind Charge, Bufudyne

_Null ice, weak fire (using Blazing Flame, Surt)._

**Shinjiro:** Castor – Evil Smile, Power Charge, Heat Wave, High Counter, Deathbound, Regenerate 2, Akasha Arts, God's Hand

_No strengths, no weaknesses. _

**Yukari:** Isis – Charmdi, Me Patra, Diarahan, Garudyne, Wind Break, Magarudyne, Samarecarm, Mediarahan.

_Null wind, weak electricity (using Lightning Gloves, Thor). _

_**Persona 4:**  
_

_All these are based on actual personae I built within the game, so they're all viable skill combinations._

**_Yu Narukami_**_: _**_Equipped God's Love, all stats +10_**

Izanagi no Okami – Megidolaon, Victory Cry, Angelic Grace, Absorb All, Myriad Truths, God's Hand, Salvation, Samarecarm

Magatsu-Izanagi – Mind Charge, Maziodyne, Mabufudyne, Maragidyne, Magarudyne, Heat Riser, Debilitate, Spell Master

Kaguya – Hamaon, Mahamon, Hama Boost, Mediarahan, Fast Heal, Tetraja, Spell Master, Ziodyne

Mahakala – Agidyne, Myriad Arrows, Power Charge, Mind Charge, Mamudoon, Mudoon, Mudo Boost, Fire Amp

Ishtar – Mediarahan, Samarecarm, Ziodyne, Maziodyne, Elec Amp, Spell Master, Absorb Wind, Salvation

Loki – Niflheim, Mabufudyne, Ice Amp, Null fire, Garudyne, High Counter, Wind Amp, Arrow Rain

**Chie: **Haraedo-no-Okami – Agneyastra, Dragon Hustle, God's Hand, Power Charge, Bufudyne, High Counter, Apt pupil, Evade Fire

_Null light, absorb ice, weak fire_.

_Equipped Ring of Beads (Magical evasion up high)_

**Kanji:** Takeji Zaiten – The Man's Way, Primal Force, Ziodyne, Maziodyne,

Matarukaja, Fast heal, Evade wind, Elec amp, _Resist physical, absorb electricity, weak wind. _

_Equipped Ouryu Brace (all stats +5)_

**Naoto:** Yamato Sumeragi – Megidolaon, Vorpal Blade, Mahamaon, Mamudoon,

Hama Boost, Mudo Boost, Angelic Grace, Shield of Justice, _Null fire, reflect light, reflect dark._

_Equipped Eagle Eye (Physical evasion up high)_

**Rise: **Kouzeon – Complete Analysis, Third eye, Healing Song, Certain Escape, Relaxing Song

**Teddie:** Kamui-Moshiri – Bufudyne, Mabufudyne, Gigantic Fist, Kamui Miracle,

Mediarahan, Samarecarm, Evade elec, Ice Amp _Null wind, null dark, absorb ice, weak electricity. _

_Equipped Lucky Seven (Luck +10)_

**Yosuke:** Takehaya Susano-o – Garudyne, Magarudyne, Masakukuja, Youthful Wind,

Brave Blade, Megido, Evade electricity, Wind Amp _Null fire, absorb wind, weak electricity. _

_Equipped Takehutsu Brooch(Elec damage taken -50%)_

**Yukiko: ** Sume-Omikami – Agidyne, Burning Petals, Mind Charge, Diarahan, Salvation, Samarecarm, Evade Ice, Fire Amp

_Null electricity, absorb fire, weak ice._

_Equipped Vow of Kagutsuchi (Fire damage +50%)_


	5. Chapter 5

**And I'm back. :D Thanks for all the feedback so far, hope everyone continues to enjoy what I've got so far. And there is fighting! Shadows at last!  
**

* * *

"And you were in this state for two years?" Naoto asked. Minako nodded. "That sounds enough to drive a person mad. Set in stone, unable to move and yet totally conscious."

"I have no mouth. And I must scream," Yu said quietly. Chie looked at him confused. "It's a story," he explained. "Harlan Ellison. It was in one of those horror compilations I read last year."

Minako shifted uncomfortably. "I don't actually remember the seal itself," she said eventually. "I remember the process of becoming the seal, but I don't remember _being _the seal. I remember the things I saw on Earth though."

"Have you considered that perhaps you were only ever supposed to be a temporary part of the seal?" Naoto asked, brushing a loose lock of blue hair out of her face.

"I thought about it, but I don't think it works like that," she replied anxiously. "Subconsciously, there are people who crave the fall. They aren't a majority but there are enough of them for it to be a problem. My presence was what held the seal together."

"So you believe you might have to return to the seal?" Naoto deduced.

"Exactly. That's why my friends can't know I'm here."

"But we can't just not tell them!" Chie exclaimed. "When you came up in conversation yesterday for about thirty seconds, they all just about stopped functioning."

"And what do you think would happen if they saw me again? If they knew I was back and then I had to leave again?" Yu watched as Minako snapped at Chie. The girl had built an impressive wall around herself – he knew, because he'd done exactly the same thing before he came to Inaba. It was the people around him now who'd helped him break that down, and he suspected that the SEES team were the only people who would truly be able to help Minako tear down her current defences.

"What if they just bump into you? Inaba's tiny, could happen really easily. Especially as they're all staying at the Amagi Inn," Yosuke pointed out. Yu almost hoped that would happen; it would certainly make life simpler. "And I'm with Chie, it's unfair to keep this from them. I mean I spoke with Junpei about it and I'm pretty sure he blames himself for being helpless during the fight against Nyx."

"He wasn't helpless; I couldn't have done it without him."

"Yeah, and he needs you to tell him that," Yu said.

"If you won't help me, I'll figure this out by myself. I'll leave first thing tomorrow and get far away from Inaba. They'd never believe you."

"Do you have any clue where to even start looking?" Naoto asked pointedly.

"Those guys in the Velvet Room dropped you off by my hotel for a reason," Rise said firmly. "You must need our help."

"Supported by my own brief trip there," Yu said quietly. "I think leaving now would be unwise."

Yu could tell she was trying to find some way around this argument, but she never got the chance. That was when the screaming began.

* * *

"What on Earth is going on up there?" Akihiko asked, climbing out of the stationary car in time to see the crowd running and screaming towards him. He ducked his head back into the vehicle. "People are screaming about a monster at the Inn," he said, his expression dark.

"Shadows!" Mitsuru exclaimed, hurrying to the back of the car. She popped open the boot and pulled out a sheath of brown wood, fixed to a belt of sleek black leather, which she fastened tightly about her waist. The familiar weight of the Snow Queen Whip was oddly comforting.

"Akihiko, Iori, equip yourselves, we're heading in! Amada, I want you to aid the continued evacuation of the inn, stay back from the fight and make sure no one turns back!"

"Arf!" Koromaru leapt forward, planting his paws on the back of the car.

"Take Koromaru with you," Mitsuru instructed Ken as Akihiko and Junpei retrieved their weapons, "We haven't got time to fit his harness on."

"Ok," Ken replied, nodding grimly. "Come on, Koro-chan, let's go!"

* * *

Minako ran from the room with the others, moving against the flow of panicked people, towards the source of the disturbance. She was aware of her evoker, strapped to her thigh under her dress, and hoped she would not have to use it.

But no, there it was: a shadow in the real world, outside of the dark hour. How was this possible? The thing was huge, a molten mess of blackness that roiled around in the courtyard before the inn, the inky surface of its skin popping with small bubbles. It roared, and Minako flinched backwards, glancing around the courtyard.

There was no one there, at least no one conscious. A short distance away lay the woman who'd lead her to her room, and more besides. She hoped they were simply unconscious. She drew her evoker and tried to stop her hands from shaking. She'd done this a thousand times before, she reasoned, and she was no longer afraid to die. She put the gun to her temple, and fired.

"Helel!" she shouted. Nothing happened. There was a click from the trigger, but no breaking glass, no bullet of ice through her skull. The persona remained tight within her chest even as the shadow hit out at her, sending her flying through a nearby window. Dazed and confused, she sat up. Broken glass surrounded her, and outside she could hear the shadow rampaging. Fumbling, cutting her fingers as she searched, Minako tried to find her evoker. Again she held it to her head, and again she pulled the trigger.

"Thanatos! Messiah! Odin! Norn!" Nothing happened. The evoker clicked over and over, but no persona rushed to her aid. "Orpheus Telos! Orpheus! ORPHEUS!" she cried out in desperation, but even that elicited no reply. She was alone.

* * *

Akihiko roared, rushing forwards and raising his evoker. "Ziodyne!" he shouted as he pulled the trigger, and Ceaser came at his call, lightning striking down at the shadow. He stuffed the evoker back into the holster at his waist and fell into a boxing stance, raising his skull-like gloves and lunging forward as Mitsuru made her move.

"Artemisia!" she called and a block of ice formed around the creature before shattering into thousands of pieces. Enraged by their attack, the shadow turned away from the investigation team, some of whom were standing on the steps to the Inn.

"Trismegistus!" Junpei bellowed, and fire bloomed across the shadow's surface. It screeched and fell back.

"It's weak to fire!" Junpei shouted. "Everyone attack!" They raised their weapons and charged, striking at the viscous black skin of the shadow. Chie ran forwards to join them, the only member of the Inaba team who required no weapon. She leapt at it, feet connecting with a sickening crunch. The shadow cried out, their blows raining upon the burnt portion of its hide.

"Again, Iori!" Mitsuru shouted, and he complied, stunning the creature. Akihiko drew back a fist and pounded it into what approximated the creatures face – a gaping hole of a mouth and deep, icy pits for its eyes and Junpei sent Masakado's Katana crashing in for the finishing blow. The thing cried out one last time, and whatever force had held it together dissipated, the shadow-stuff collapsing into liquid that quickly faded away.

"How the hell did that thing get here?" Chie asked, staggering back.

"A good question," Mitsuru said through tight lips, returning the Snow Queen Whip to its sheath. "Was anyone hurt?" Yukiko hurried up to them, her kimono torn and her hair coming loose but seemingly unhurt.

"Most people evacuated before the shadow got too close," she said breathlessly. "There are a few broken limbs, but as far as we can tell nothing more serious. The building isn't particularly damaged either."

"Yes, all things considered this was a very light attack," Mitsuru said thoughtfully.

"We gonna call the others in?" Junpei asked, gasping for breath. "Looks like business as usual for SEES."

"I'll contact Aragaki and Takeba," Mitsuru agreed.

"And Fuuka?" Akihiko asked.

"We could definitely do with a stronger scanning persona. Juno's penumbra would easily cover Inaba and then some, but we should talk with Kujikawa first to establish her scanning abilities."

"Of course," Akihiko replied.

Sirens sounded in the distance. "Leave this to me," Mitsuru instructed them. "Akihiko, gather the Investigation Team and find Amada. Wait for my call."

* * *

Minako had stumbled back to her room and she sat there now, inspecting her bloody palms. Her evoker sat on the table, and she didn't look at it as she stumbled to the washroom. Slowly, painfully, she removed slithers of glass from her hands and from her legs where they had slashed through her tights. The dress seemed to have protected her somehow, as had her shoes, but her exposed skin was lacerated in many places, including a thin gash across her left cheek.

She washed the cuts slowly and methodically before padding back into her room and sitting down, waiting for the knock at the door. They would have told the rest of SEES that she was here, Minako was sure. When the knock came, however, it was timid and soft. "It's open," she said, and Rise peered in through the gap.

Seeing Minako sitting motionless on the sofa, Rise hurried in and closed the door behind her.

"Are you alright?" she asked quietly.

"I've been better, but I've been worse too."

"Yeah, I guess you have." Rise fidgeted. "I can't stay too long, the guys from Iwatodai are… well they're calling in the team."

"I saw them fight the shadow," Minako said quietly. "I saw Junpei, Mitsuru and Akihiko." Her voice was utterly hollow, and it scared Rise to hear it so devoid of emotion. Minako hadn't exactly been expressive since her return, but this was a whole new level of emptiness.

"Are you sure…" Rise began. _Sure you won't go see them now?_

"Yes that'd be a fantastic conversation," Minako snapped. "'Hi Mitsuru-senpai, sorry I didn't tell you I wasn't dead, how have you been?'" She pushed herself up from the sofa, wringing her hands and pacing forwards. "Or maybe, 'hey Junpei it's just me your not-so-dead best friend back from the beyond.' Or no, the real topper – 'hello Aki, long time no see, just me. I was thinking we could pick up where we left off, I mean two years isn't so long in the grand scheme of things,'" her voice caught, and finally the tears started to flow. Rise leapt to her feet and wrapped her arms around Minako's shoulders. She was sobbing, and made no attempt to return the gesture.

"He was your boyfriend?" Rise asked. Minako nodded and Rise's arms tightened about her shoulders, and rocked the older girl gently forwards and backwards for a short while until her sobs became less forceful.

"I can't stay," Rise said finally. "They'll come looking for me, or else Kirijo will summon Artemisia to find me."

"Go," Minako hiccupped. "I'll be alright." As Rise moved to leave, Minako's hand darted forwards, grabbing her arm. "Please don't tell them," she whispered, eyes still shining with tears.

"I…"

"Promise me Rise," Minako begged. "Please?"

"I… I promise."

* * *

"From the sound of it," Mitsuru said, "Your persona has a much smaller penumbra than that of Yamagishi's although your ability to aid the battle is more advanced." She glanced down at her notebook, tapping the pen against the pad.

"Sounds like it's time to call in the team then," Junpei said, kicking back in his chair. He'd managed to position himself to the right of Rise, and was exceptionally proud of the subtlety with which he believed he'd managed it. This was THE Risette!

"One thing first," Mitsuru said, reaching to her side and bringing up a large metal briefcase which she put on the desk in front of her. She clicked open the catches, and lifted the lid.

Junpei couldn't see what was inside, but something about it made Mitsuru gasp. "What is it?" Akihiko asked.

"Her evoker," she said, her face paler than Junpei had seen it in two years. "It's gone." She turned the case around, revealing a foam padded interior containing three evokers, two with the words _Strega_ down the barrel, one with S.E.E.S. There was an empty fourth slot.

"Minako-chin's?" Junpei asked, staring at the empty space. Mitsuru nodded tightly. "These are Shirato's and Yoshino's," she gestured to the Strega evokers, "and that's Yamagishi's. Arisato's was also in here." Her hands had balled up into fists, the knuckles turning white.

"It's probably related to the shadows," Akihiko said darkly. "What use would anyone have for it otherwise?"

"Are these how you were summoning your personas?" Chie asked. She was eyeing them nervously.

"Yes. They're called evokers," Mitsuru explained, lifting out one of the devices labelled _Strega_. "They were developed by Kirijo scientists about twelve years ago."

"How do you guys do it without an evoker, anyway?" Junpei asked, turning away from the box and the glaring spot where Minako's evoker should be.

"I dunno, we just kinda do?" Chie said vaguely.

"There is a card we can call forth," Naoto explained. "Breaking the card summons the persona, but it only works in the other world. What are these evokers?"

"Well for us," Mitsuru began to explain, "Summoning a persona is strongly correlated with fear and self-preservation. It is possible without an evoker in times of great need, and we have encountered at least one person with the ability to summon his persona at will, but for the most part it is easier with the device."

"I do not like where this is going," Chie muttered. The other members of the investigation team mumbled their agreement.

"Could you demonstrate?" Rise said quietly. Heads snapped in her direction, all the members of the investigation team looking straight at her. Junpei also looked in her direction, but the idol was staring down at her hands. He could only just see her face, and he thought maybe she was crying.

Why would she be crying?

"Of course," Mitsuru said. She raised the evoker to her head and after a brief moment she pulled the trigger. Artemisia flared into life behind her. "Artemisa has limited scanning capabilities," she said, her eyes closed. "I can just about scan this section of the Inn for shadow activity, which thankfully is absent. I can also detect persona users. There are the seven of us in here, but I can't detect Amagi from here."

Yukiko was on the other side of the building going over the damage to the exterior with her parents, but Minako's room was only almost directly above the function room. Yu wondered if Mitsuru's inability to see Minako had something to do with her inability to call her persona earlier. He looked at Rise, who didn't contradict Mitsuru's assumption even as Artemisia disappeared. Had she wanted Minako to be discovered? If so, why hadn't she said anything?

"I'd suggest Narukami and Kujikawa take the Strega evokers," Mitsuru said matter-of-factly. "The Wild Card abilities will be the most useful, as will a stronger scanning type. I'll contact the remainder of SEES and see who can be here soon. The sooner we can monitor Inaba, the better – if necessary I'll have scanning equipment set up nearby. I suggest tomorrow we begin scouting this other world and see if we can identify the leak."

"I'll check with Yukiko and Kanji," Yu said, "See who can make it. Teddie will be there waiting."

"Brilliant. Shall we meet at the Food Court tomorrow morning? That does seem to be your usual spot?"

"That's the one," Yosuke confirmed. "Yu, see if you can get the fox to come along as well."

"Is this the special friendship fox?" Junpei asked, grinning.

"The what?" Ken asked, frowning.

"It's a long story," Yu sighed.

* * *

When Dojima wrapped up the scene, he gave Yu, Rise and Yosuke a lift back into town. He was silent until they pulled away from the tofu shop and turned towards home. "These people you're hanging out with… the Kirijo woman and her friends, they were seen near the scene of the incident."

"Yeah, I know," Yu said, bracing himself for the inevitable. He knew better than to try pulling any kind of wool over Dojima's eyes.

"You're not getting involved are you?" he asked. "You've only been back in Inaba a couple of days, and already strange things are starting up again." He laughed. "I'm starting to spot a common factor in this one." Yu didn't reply at first, weighing his words carefully, and it was only when Dojima had parked the car that he finally spoke.

"We are involved."

"What?!" Dojima shouted, turning in his seat to stare at Yu. He glanced at the house and then repeated himself, speaking more quietly this time. "What do you mean?"

"It's related to what happened… before," Yu said carefully. "That world we told you about… it looks as though it might be…" he searched for the word for a moment, "It looks like it might be leaking."

"Leaking?"

"Yeah. Those people I'm talking with – they've got information and technology that deals with this sort of thing."

"I can't hear any of this," Dojima growled, running a hand over his face. "I appreciate your honesty, but none of this can go in a report. Are the murders going to start up again?"

"No! This is different, and we're more on top of it this time. At least, I hope we are."

"Thank you… for trusting me. But for the record, I never heard any of this."

"Got it."

"Right. Go on and see if Nanako's alright, she might have heard about the incident on the news. She'll be worried about you."

"And you too."

"Yeah. She's a good kid." Dojima smiled and nodded to himself. "She's been really looking forward to having you around again. Go on, spend some time with her." Smiling, Yu opened the door and stepped into the warm air of the late afternoon. Knowing that tomorrow would be hard, he put the thoughts about the trip into the other world out of his mind, and decided that, at least for tonight, he'd simply enjoy being back around Nanako and his friends.

* * *

Kanji set down the phone and began to mull over the things Naoto had told him. He'd really picked a time to hold a class. Another wild card in Inaba, and one everyone had thought was dead at that. Man this was getting complicated. Add to that a shadow attacking the inn and Kanji was seeing violence in the imminent future. He glanced out of the window and saw Akihiko jogging down the street again.

_What the hell_, he thought to himself, heading down the stairs and out onto the shop porch. "Hey," he said, nodding as Akihiko came level with him.

"Hey," Akihiko said. "You hear about what happened at the Inn?"

"Yeah, world's going crazy right?"

"Same as it ever was." Akihiko rolled his head from side to side, cracking the joints as he did so.

Naoto had told him about Rise's promise to the Arisato girl, but he felt the secret pressing down on him as he talked with Akihiko. "Isn't it hard?" he asked. "Fighting without her?"

"Yeah," Akihiko said a touch too nonchalantly. "She was our strongest fighter."

"Not what I meant."

"Hmph," Akihiko huffed a slight laugh. "I figured as much. I'm not gonna go crazy over it, don't worry."

"I ain't saying you're gonna go crazy," Kanji protested, "Just that you're seriously repressing shit here."

"That's what happens when someone precious to you dies in your arms," Akihiko replied. "Strangely, you don't enjoy talking about it."

"Yeah well I guess it ain't any of my business anyway." Kanji shrugged.

Akihiko nodded in agreement and ran on. Kanji shook his head and was about to head back inside when something caught his eye.

"Hey, Sanada!" He shouted. Akihiko glanced back over his shoulder and faltered. Another shadow was creeping slowly up the street towards them. Swearing, Akihiko reached under his vest and pulled his evoker free of the strap he'd used to secure it in place. He sprinted forwards and pulled the trigger. "Ziodyne!" he cried out. Kanji, not having an evoker, leapt forward and punched the thing right on the mask. Other than that slight addition, Akihiko noted that it was incredibly similar to the one they'd seen at the inn earlier that day. It looked like an overgrown Frivolous Maya.

"It's resistant to electricity!" Akihiko yelled as the thing roared. Lights flickered on in the surrounding buildings and he cursed. The last thing he needed was to be recognised, and he imagined Kanji could do without it as well. "What've you got?"

"Zio skills," Kanji cursed, backing away from the shadow. Where was a weapon when you need one? "Some physical attacks as well."

"You got the guts?" Akihiko asked, holding out his evoker. Kanji hesitated and then reached forward to take it.

"Why the hell not?" he muttered through gritted teeth, putting the thing to his head. He screwed his eyes closed and pulled the trigger. "Takeji Zaiten!" The persona loomed behind him and brought his great red sword crashing down. The shadow cringed back at the blow and Akihiko took his chance, diving forwards and striking with his bare fists.

"This is how a man does it!" Kanji yelled, pointing and firing the evoker once more. Again Tekeji Zeiten roared and this time the shadow was blasted backwards. "It's stunned!" Kanji shouted. "Let's get it!" Together, fists flying, they jumped at the shadow. It was over quickly.

Panting, Kanji handed the evoker back to Akihiko. "Man, I prefer our way," he said. "That thing is nasty."

"It's like ice," Akihiko nodded, catching his breath. "But then again, it wouldn't work if it was fun. Did anyone see us?"

"I dunno, it's not too bright out here." Kanji looked around then cursed. "There's someone running away, down there." He pointed down the street. Akihiko hesitated and then shook his head.

"They're far enough away that they night not recognise us, and hopefully they turned and ran the moment they say that thing," he indicated the slowly disappearing pile of goo.

"Well let's go before anyone else shows up, right Sanada?"

"Akihiko," he said, holding out a hand. "You fight well."

"Thanks. You got a mean right hook there."

"I've worked on it." There it was again; that dark edge in his voice, and a sinister gleam in his eyes. Kanji almost asked again, but thought better of it.

* * *

Minako knew she shouldn't have followed him. She knew she should have stayed in her room out of the way, but still when she'd seen Akihiko jog out of the Inn from her window, she'd slipped out after him.

Then she'd seen him fight again, and the ferocity of it had scared her. He'd changed since she'd died, and not in a good way.


	6. Chapter 6

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews since last time! :D I'm glad you're enjoying the story - and for those wondering, the reunion has been written (I'm still fine tuning it) it's just not happening _quite_ yet.**

* * *

Yukari threw herself out of sleep as the phone went. Yawning, she stumbled out of bed and across the box-room and fumbled for the device. She managed to drop it three times before she saw who was calling.

"Mitsuru-senpai?" she asked, not quite believing it.

"Takeba," Mitsuru's tone was brusque and she wasted no time, getting straight to the point. "Recently I detected shadow activity in Inaba, near Okinawa. I went to investigate, along with Iori and Amada, and subsequently there have been two shadow fights in this world. I'd appreciate support from both you and Aigis."

"Wow… erm, yeah sure I guess." Yukari wasn't sure how else to respond.

"There's more. We've encountered another group with the potential."

"More persona users? That's… unexpected." Yukari headed back over to her bed, perching on the edge and flicking on her bedside light. "Have they had much experience?"

"Quite a lot, actually. They fought and defeated the god Izamani-no-mikoto, although from what I can tell that was more the actions of one member. He," Mitsuru actually seemed to be searching for the right words, "He has the same ability Minako had."

"Oh." Yukari was totally floored by the new. "You mean…"

"A wild card, yes. Will you and Aigis come and help us?"

"Well I'll have to get off work first…"

"Inform me if you have any issues with that," Mitsuru interrupted, and Yukari could almost hear a slight smirk in her voice.

"Ok, Mitsuru-senpai. If I pack now and go to work on the way to the station… we could be there this evening."

"Fantastic. Let me know when you are due, I shall send a car to meet you at the station."

Yukari put down the phone and sat in silence for a while. More shadows, more persona, another Wild Card. She glanced at the photo on her bedside cabinet. It wasn't a good shot (truthfully, it was a terrible shot) but she loved it anyway. At the back, Junpei was falling over with his hat in the air and everyone else was partially turned towards him with horrified expressions, from Mitsuru's father on the left to Minako on the right.

She knew Mitsuru could never bring herself to look at this picture. Her father had died later that very night, and Minako had only been with them for only a few short months after that. Yukari wouldn't say she looked back on those times fondly, but she had come to peace with what had happened, both the things she had lost and those she had gained. Now Mitsuru was asking her to pick up her bow and evoker once again and while Yukari wouldn't dream of refusing, she couldn't help but wonder what they were in for this time.

* * *

"Aragaki," Mitsuru's voice was as brisk as usual when he picked up the phone. He'd just got in from a late shift at the restaurant and he was exhausted.

"Yeah?" he asked, kicking off his shoes and heading up the stairs. "You want me to join you, I guess?" Ken had already told him about the shadows in Inaba when he dropped by to pick up Koromaru.

"We've encountered shadows in this world."

"Sounds serious."

"It is. How quickly can you get here?"

"I've got a shift this afternoon, but I can get them to rearrange the rest of them this week, maybe extend that if I say it's a personal thing."

"Good. Let me know as soon as you have an ETA." She hung up without another word and he tsked under his breath, shaking his head. There were certain things in life that were certain. The world went on spinning, and Mitsuru Kirijo never changed.

8888888

"I went to see her grave," Rise said, not turning away from the sun as it peeped over the distant horizon. They were sitting by the riverbank and the slight chill of the night still lingered. "Remember the school trip to Gekkoukan High? We only split up for like half an hour, but I'd already looked up where it was. It was beautiful. We hadn't spoken all that much after she transferred, and we only met up once when I was in town for that cancelled concert – she'd been busy, I guess I know what with now… and I'd just started my idol work. We just kind of drifted apart."

"Sounds like it."

"Senpai, promise me something," she said, snuggling closer into Yu's chest.

"Hmm?" He was absently stroking her hair, eyes on the bright sky.

"You won't ever drift away, will you? Not ever?"

"Of course I won't," he replied, smiling.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good. Although you'd struggle to get away from me," she told him, grinning back. "I'd cling on."

"Like a limpet?"

"Exactly like a limpet. Only I'd cling on tighter than any limpet would." She pinched him lightly on the arm to emphasise her point

"Naturally."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, mock affronted. They were silent again for a while, before Rise finally spoke. "I get why she's doing it," she said quietly, "But that doesn't mean I like it."

"What do you mean?" Yu asked, looking down at her. Rise sat up and looked him in the eye as she spoke.

"She's worried – from what I've gathered so far, her death pretty much saved the world. She's scared that now she's back it'll undo that."

"Yeah, I can see how that might trouble her slightly."

"But then…" she looked away again as she spoke, "Then I imagine if we'd had to do something similar, if we'd found ourselves in the position Minako and her team did and I realised… you'd have gone. You'd have done it in a heartbeat. You remind me of her, you know? You both put others way out before yourselves and you're always around exactly when people need someone to rant at, or someone to console them, or explain their problems to." She folded her hands in her lap and looked back at the sun, now clear of the horizon. "Maybe that's why you've got the same persona abilities – the pair of you are just so accepting, so able to see the good in those around you – that you're something more than normal."

"You really think that much of me?" Yu said after a moment.

"Well yeah, stupid," Rise laughed. "I love you, don't I?"

"Yeah, I hope so."

"And you love me too?"

"And I love you too." She kissed him, long and lingering, her arm against his and her hand brushing the nape of his neck. He was real, here before her. She remembered how scared… how alone she'd felt when they'd fought Izanami and her team mates had one by one sunk away into that black abyss. She'd been afraid that she'd never see them again.

"I want to help them," she said, finally breaking the kiss. "I want to help them prove to Minako that she can stay here, that she doesn't need to go back. Can we do that? As a team?"

"Yeah. Helping people's what we do best, after all."

* * *

"So there is something odd happening in the other world?" Yu asked.

"Absolutely sensei," Teddie replied with a vigorous nod. "I don't know what, but something over there is totally out of whack, and the shadows are starting to get all roiled up all over again! It's making me beary worried."

"Well that sounds worth a closer look," Akihiko said firmly.

"It appears that, unwittingly, we have been operating under similar systems when confronting shadows," Mitsuru said. "I'd suggest we continue with the same?"

"Yeah, if that's alright with everyone else," Yu agreed. There were mumbled agreements around the table and even a yip from the fox.

"Who'll lead the team?" Junpei asked uneasily. Mitsuru glanced his way and Yu saw her falter slightly. She had told them that Minako had always led them in battle previously.

"I can do that," he offered. "I usually lead our team."

"Senpai's bein' modest," Kanji said, shaking his head, "He _always_ lead the team."

"Very well then," Mitsuru decided, "But I would ask that Akihiko and I join the forward team. These are lists of our strengths and weaknesses," she held out a sheet of paper, which Yu took. There was a list of names in alphabetical order by first name – Aigis, Akihiko, Fuuka… presumably the entirety of SEES. As well as listing their persona abilities, the list also stated what their strengths and weaknesses were, and how the compensated for them with accessories worn in battle.

"I can cover for any missing element," Yu said finally, "So if we prioritise a healer and Yukiko comes with us, this should be a fairly well balanced team." He glanced up and saw Mitsuru smiling. She must have seen his questioning look, because she explained the reason to him. "Arisato decided very shortly after our initial explorations of Tartarus to keep the forward team stable – including herself, Akihiko and I, and our best healer, Yukari Takeba. Three elements with her covering the fourth."

"Senpai always takes Yukiko," Kanji said, "The rest of us go every now and then."

"I don't always go," Yukiko corrected him.

"You do usually," Chie pointed out, "But you are way the best healer, so it's fair."

"We also had a reserve team operating a few floors down at any one time," Mitsuru said. "I'd recommend doing the same here, although they will have to stay closer to us with the absence of Yamagishi's penumbra."

"Can I go on the reserve team? It's been ages since I really kicked any butt." Chie asked.

"Yeah, I could go as well," Junpei said excitedly, leaning forward.

Yu glanced down at the sheet again, searching for Junpei's abilities.

"If Kanji and Yosuke go with you guys, you've got all the elements covered," he said after a moment, "But you'll need to stock up before we go, especially as Rise'll be with us and not you."

"Not a problem," Mitsuru replied, "I took the liberty of acquiring some powerful support items last night, and had the rest of our equipment brought in from Iwatodai. Ensure you have a plentiful supply of Treasto and Trafuri gems in case of emergency."

"Shall we leave some people behind in case there's a shadow here?" Naoto asked.

"A sensible course of action," Mitsuru said with a nod of her head. "I'd suggest Amada and Tatsumi, as he has already proven he can use an evoker." She looked expectantly at Yu, who (after glancing around furtively) slid his strega evoker to Kanji.

"Kirijo," Naoto began again, "I remember you saying yesterday that you were bringing in the rest of your team?"

"That's correct," she replied, acknowledging the query with a nod of the head. "Takeba and Aigis will arrive this evening, while Aragaki is due tomorrow morning. Yamagishi is currently abroad; however, I've arranged for her to return for a few weeks from next weekend. Once the rest of SEES is here, we can begin this operation in earnest. For today I suggest we simply acquaint ourselves with the new location and the enemies we're likely to face."

"Well then," Akihiko said, rising. "Let's go."

Mitsuru approached the television and stared at it for a moment, frowning. Slowly, she lifted a hand and pressed it against the screen. Nothing happened.

Yu moved forward and pressed his hand _into_ the screen. Mitsuru tried again, but still nothing. "Chie and I got in by trying to pull Yu out of the TV," Yosuke said after a moment.

"We should try that then," Mitsuru said, placing a hand on Yu's shoulder. "When you're ready, Narukami." Yu grinned and dived forward, plunging them both into the other world.

* * *

Minako had slept fitfully, and she yawned widely as she contemplated the day ahead. Yukiko, under Rise's instruction she had no doubt, had visited her that morning and filled her in on their plan for the day. Minako knew now that, as long as she stayed far away from Junes, she'd have a clear run for the train station.

On the other hand, she also knew that a shadow had attacked the hotel the previous evening _and_ one had appeared in town after that. She didn't need to visit the other world to find out why they were here – it _had _to be the seal.

"Theodore!" she shouted. "Igor! Margaret! Can I have some answers anytime soon?" she was tired and frustrated and frankly she didn't know what to do. She was still surprised, however, when a blue door shimmered into being before her. Without hesitating she opened it and dived inside before it could disappear again.

Igor was absent, which was highly unusual, and Margaret sat on the sofa before her. Stepping forward cautiously, Minako took her seat and waited.

"Greetings Miss Arisato," she said at last, "What can I help you with?"

"You can start by telling me why I'm here," she said. She tried to control her voice, but instead her tone was pleading, desperation leaking into her words. "What has happened to the seal?"

"The seal is in capable hands," Margaret assured her. "There is some mess to clear up on your end though I believe, which makes me wonder what you are doing here?" the question implied by her tone made Minako hesitate and her hand fluttered for a moment, brushing against the skirt that covered her evoker.

"I can't summon a persona."

"That would be difficult, for one who seeks death," Margaret said without blinking. "You know the rules of the persona, Miss Arisato, and I am quite sure I need not repeat them to you now."

"Why am I back then?" she asked. "Why aren't I part of the seal anymore?"

"There are many journeys in the world you call home," Margaret said carefully. She held two books – two compendiums – on her knee, and as Minako watched she cracked the black one open. An image seemed to hover above the page and she saw SEES standing together in the dormitory before a table laden with flowers. They were pale, and some of them were crying. Her heart ached to see them so she closed her eyes, looking away.

"That is something you must discover by yourself, Mistress Minako. But please, look upon what I am showing you. Think of what you can do. You have returned, and you can see them again – consider it a gift, perhaps?"

Minako hesitated before she turned back. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked down at the image. It moved and she watched as Fuuka buried her head in Yukari's shoulder, and as the older girl slipped her arm around her friend. Mitsuru's eyes were red rimmed from crying, but her face was a mask as she looked at the table, while Junpei's eyes were unfocused… lost. Ken was staring down at his feet and Aigis, beautiful Aigis standing at the centre of them all, let her tears flow unchecked.

Shinji had his head bowed, hands resting in his knees as he sat in his wheelchair. Koromaru sat by his feet, quiet and solemn. Finally, Minako's eyes found the last face. Akihiko looked straight ahead, his jaw set and his eyes dry. In that expression she saw exactly what she'd feared and something inside her broke all over again.

"This is no gift," she whispered.

"It is what you have been given," Margaret said, snapping the book shut. "Theodore is sorry he couldn't be here for you today, but he instructed me to give you these. He seemed to think you might need them."

Reaching forward, Minako took the familiar set of keys from Margaret's hand. "So…" she said as she stood. "I have to speak with them before I go back?" Margaret smiled very slightly and nodded. "Will I ever be able to summon my personae?" she could feel them still resting within her chest, but it was as though there was a barrier between them; one she could not breach.

"That," Margaret said, "Is entirely up to you. Please, don't forget this." At her words, one of the doors opened and new figure stepped into the room. She was pale, her hair the same white blonde as Margaret's only cut into a sharp bob. Her blue dress identified her immediately as a denizen of the room. "My name is Elizabeth," she said with a pleasant smile. In her hands she held a naginata. The blade was sharp and there was a bunch of bright feathers tied at the top of the shaft.

"Vel Vel Muruga," Minako whispered, reaching out and taking the weapon. Elizabeth nodded and held out a small blue bag. "Your personal affects," she said.

"We will not see you again for some time," Margaret warned her. "Please, farewell."

As Minako took the bag, the room began to dissolve from around her, and she found herself in an unfamiliar location. She was surrounded on all sides by lush fields of green and yellow, and not too far away a waterfall ran.

Opening the bag, she saw a handful of items and a couple of changes of clothes. Her breath caught as she recognised the armour of light. Barely even daring to believe it, she reached deeper into the bag and… yes, there it was. The omnipotent orb was also there.

Seeing no one around and suspecting trouble, Minako took a moment to slip into the light, malleable armour. It fitted just as well as it once had, despite the fact that she was an inch or so taller than she had been when she died.

Stuffing the blue dress into the bag, Minako slung it over one shoulder and began to walk down the hill. Sure enough she began to spot shadows lurking a short distance away. She ignored them as much as they ignored her and when she reached the bottom of the hill she couldn't help but smirk slightly at what was waiting there for her.

* * *

Mitsuru cursed as she rifled through one of the cases she'd had brought through into the other world. "It's missing!" she finally exclaimed.

"What is it this time?" Junpei asked.

"The omnipotent orb," Mitsuru huffed. "I packed it before I left. She hesitated and then turned to the longest, thinnest case and cracked it open.

"What was in there?" Junpei asked, staring into the empty space.

"Vel Vel Muruga," Akihiko answered before Mitsuru could speak.

"Vel Vel what now?"

"Mina's naginata," Akihiko replied, brow furrowed and eyes flashing with barely contained anger. "First her evoker and now this? Is her armour still there?" Mitsuru indicated the correct bag and he moved over, rifling efficiently through its contents. "Both the shoes and armour of light are missing," he said, the same anger now audible in his voice.

"This is too much now to be a coincidence," Mitsuru said firmly. "This simply increases the urgency with which we need to press forward." She turned to Yu. "When you're ready, we'll move."


	7. Chapter 7

**A fairly short chapter this time, I'm afraid. Mostly because it didn't need much adding to it when I passed through a second time - it's mostly fighting, really. Also, it's short because I wanted it to end in a specific place. Hurray cliffhangers!  
**

**Sorry (not sorry).**

**Kanjilearner3309 - I considered it, but in the end I decided not to cover _everyone__'s_ weaknesses. I figured that they wouldn't exactly have the guide to hand, so Mina wouldn't know exactly which persona had what item, or maybe that she could attain them twice. Let's be honest, it's a pretty spectacular run as it stands. :p  
**

**Thanks again everyone else, I love hearing your feedback. Make sure to let me know if you spot any errors/plotholes so I can fix them up asap!**

* * *

"Niflheim!" Yu shouted, reaching forward to crush the blue card that hovered before him. Loki appeared behind him and with a lazy gesture caused a mountain of ice to form around the shadow, causing it to buckle under the pressure. To his left, Mitsuru ran forward and slashed down with the Snow Queen Whip, cutting deep into the stony exterior of the Basalt.

"Yukiko, now!" Yu shouted.

"Sume-Omikami!" Yukiko shouted. The golden persona danced into shimmering existence and flaming petals bloomed across the surface of the four shadows that had surrounded them. The Basalt crumbled out of existence, while both the tiny mayas shrivelled away under the onslaught. This left only the knight.

"Caesar!" Akihiko shouted. There was a bang as his evoker went off and Caesar appeared above him, lightning flashing down upon the knight even as Mitsuru and Artemisia froze it in place. The shadow shattered, and there was a moment of peace as they gathered themselves. The shadows were swarming them at irregular intervals, but with Rise's guidance they were slowly making progress towards the top of a huge hill, on the other side of which was the disturbance Teddie had sensed. The secondary team were travelling a short way behind them, stopping shadows attacking from behind and generally staying nearby in case any extra hands were needed.

"Are there many more shadows, Kujikawa?" Mitsuru asked, wiping her blade clean on the grass.

"Just the one big one just beyond the hill," Rise replied. "It'll be a toughie, but you guys can take him. It's of the magician arcana."

"Bring it on," Akihiko said, cracking his neck from side to side.

"Let me heal you first," Yukiko interjected, "You're bleeding."

"It's nothing," he said, waving her off. Mitsuru frowned at him, but he pretended not to notice.

"It does seem wise to ensure we're fully rested," Mitsuru said, taking a deep breath and readjusting the necklace she'd pulled out of storage. The red pendant was intensely warm against her chest, but it was worth it for the protection it gave her against fire, much as Akihiko's diamond bracer protected him from ice. Both had been gifts from Minako, given to her by various personae. Mitsuru had never pretended to understand the complex relationships Minako had formed with her personae, but she had always been curious.

"When you're ready," she said to Yu, who nodded. He was, like Minako, totally unflappable in battle and never seemed to tire. At her words he set off up the hill, his sword held ready and his steps firm.

They followed and Mitsuru found herself walking alongside Rise. She hadn't had much time to get to know any of the Investigation Team. After all, she had intended for her trip to Inaba to be a flying visit and yet here she was, fighting shadows again.

"We went on a school trip to Iwatodai a few months back," Rise said conversationally. "We met the student council president. She mentioned you."

"I'm glad to see I've had a lasting impact upon the school," Mitsuru said honestly.

"I…" Rise seemed to hesitate, and then her expression became hard in a way Mitsuru hadn't expected from her. "I visited her grave while I was there. Minako's, I mean."

"Her…" Mitsuru stopped short, and it took Rise a couple of steps to notice. She stopped and turned back to the older girl.

"I knew her before she transferred," Rise explained. "She was my senpai. I couldn't make the service, but I'm sure it was amazing if you guys organised it." She turned away and carried on up the hill, leaving Mitsuru alone with her thoughts. It had never occurred to her that a member of the Inaba Team might have known Minako. She shook her head; when this was over she would talk to Kujikawa.

* * *

There was a tight knot forming in Minako's stomach. She couldn't say why, but she shifted gear all the same and the motorbike roared. Of all the things Margaret could have given her, the keys to Mitsuru's motorbike had not been what she expected; however, having found the vehicle, helmet and all, in this other world she was willing to admit that it had its advantages. One of these was definitely barrelling into the more curious or stupid shadows.

She was making good time, although she still wasn't entirely sure where she was going. Her instincts were pulling her forwards and so she trusted them. She only hoped she wouldn't be too late.

* * *

"What is that thing?" Yukiko gasped.

"Stay back!" Mitsuru barked. "That's not just any shadow, that's _the_ arcana magician." Yu's eyes snapped to her as the creature turned, a motion exaggerated by the dozens of limbs surrounding the tiny central core. In one hand it held a large blue mask which slowly came to rest facing them. The shadow twisted itself in a smooth motion and six hands rose into the air, each holding needle like blades.

"Ziodyne!" Yu shouted at the creature barrelled up the hill towards them. Ishtar appeared above his head and sent electricity crashing down onto the shadow. It roared and swung at Akihiko, who ducked the blow and rolled out of the way.

"I command thee!" Mitsuru cried, firing her evoker and summoning Artemisia. Ice formed around the shadow and shattered, causing it to recoil slightly in pain. Yukiko followed up the attack with a blast of red fire, and the shadow cried out, more in frustration than pain Yu thought.

"Left, Mitsuru!" Akihiko yelled and without hesitation she heeded his warning, diving to the side even as the massive shadow slammed an arm down in the spot she'd been standing. _"Hope this helps!" _Rise's voice echoed in her mind and Mitsuru felt herself strengthen. Crying out she leapt forward, driving her rapier down in a slashing motion. She was aware of Akihiko on the shadow's other side, striking ferociously with those skull-like gloves of his. To one side she heard shattering glass and a shout of, "Magatsu-Izanagi!" The black and red persona soared over her head and she darted away from the enemy as it let loose a gust of wind that made the creature stagger.

"Agidyne!" Yukiko shouted, and Sume-Omikami sent flames licking at the shadow once again. Still, it roared.

"_It doesn't seem to have any weaknesses!"_ Rise said. _"Just keep fighting_._ Throw everything you've got at it!_" Mitsuru wasn't sure it was going to be enough; this thing was far stronger than it had been last time they encountered it.

"Izanagi no Okami, Megadolaon!" Shielding her eyes against the light, Mitsuru raised her evoker and fired, sending a blast of healing energy at Yu, who despite continuing to throw everything he had at the shadow was definitely flagging. "Again!" he bellowed, and once more bright golden light lit up the shadow realm.

Mitsuru didn't quite raise her arm in time and the light blinded her, meaning she wasn't ready for the arm that smacked her off her feet. To her left, Yukiko was sent flying as well. Mitsuru lost her grip on both her sword and her evoker, and she reached around desperately for one or the other in the grass, blinking her eyes to clear them even as Yu and Akihiko kept on fighting.

Akihiko was flagging, she realised as she squinted at him. Their time fighting side by side had demonstrated the differing abilities of SEES and the Investigation Team far more than simply discussing them. While the investigation team had more varied powers and more elemental strengths than they did, the members of SEES could take much more of a beating and could ask more of their persona before resorting to either physical or spiritual restoratives. This didn't mean much, however, if Akihiko kept refusing aid when offered.

Cursing, she redoubled her efforts to find her evoker as the shadow turned towards him. Then something else caught her attention. Was that an engine?

* * *

Akhiko knew he was running out of juice. Still he raised his evoker, firing it again and again as he sent bolts of lightning crashing into the creature before him, or else attempted to weaken it's attacks. When it sent the girls crashing away, he cursed and moved back to more traditional violence, pounding on the creature's glossy hide with his gloved hands.

"Sanada, watch out!" Yu's voice didn't quite reach him in time, and Akihiko turned to see an arm careering towards him. It held no sword, so he braced himself for the impact, closing his eyes…

It never came. Instead there was the roar of an engine and a strangely muffled shout. He opened his eyes and gaped at the image before him. A figure, riding a motorcycle and wielding a naginata was circling the monster, weaving past the arms and legs at phenomenal speed, blade flashing up and down and slicing away any hands that came close. The arm that had been coming towards him now lay flailing by his feet.

"Narukami!" he heard a muffled voice shout. "Keep going!"

Akihiko followed the advice too; as did Mitsuru and Yukiko, finally back on their feet. Yukiko cast a healing spell that revitalised him more than any spell ever had before and he rained punches on the creature's body, ducking and weaving its remaining hands.

Finally, with one last shout of "Ziodyne!" Yu called upon Ishtar and destroyed the thing. It melted away much as the creature at the Inn had the previous day, and their mysterious helper skidded to a halt, one foot on the ground trailing dust.

As the engine cut out, silence reigned on the hill. The reserve team crested it at that moment, clearly having run as soon as they saw the fight. "What the hell," Chie gasped, "Was that thing?"

"That's what I wanna know," Yukiko gasped, moving to lean on Chie. She turned to their helper, a girl, Akihiko noted, and gasped out, "Thanks."

Rise had moved closer to join them too, and she was watching the girl apprehensively, as if unsure what was going to happen next. That was fair enough, Akihiko thought. He had no idea himself.

* * *

She had forgotten the exhilaration of fighting back. As she sped around the shadow, she'd found herself laughing: finally this was something she could do with or without a persona. When the battle was over, however, she felt her stomach tighten at the inevitable confrontation before her. She cut the engine and turned to see Mitsuru stalking towards her, rage emanating from every pore of her body.

"Explain yourself," she demanded. It took Minako a moment to realise what Mitsuru could see; with her face hidden by the blue helmet, Minako could be anyone. Or rather, she could be anyone who'd broken into Kirijo storage and stolen all of Minako's old equipment, anyway.

"Remove your helmet," Mitsuru instructed in a tone as cold as the element she controlled. Panic welled in Minako's chest. She couldn't do this. No matter what Margaret said, Minako couldn't be here knowing she would have to go back.

She saw Akihiko's curious expression even as he rested his hands on his knees to get his breath back. She saw Junpei panting and sweating, but keeping his eyes fixed on her all the same. She saw Mitsuru's icy fury, and Minako knew she couldn't do this to herself or to them.

Moving as quickly as she was able, she flicked the bike into action. The engine roared as she gunned straight past Mitsuru and came within mere inches of Akihiko. She tore down the hill faster than she'd ever gone before, knowing that she could not look back.

_They don't even need you back_, a voice whispered in her ear. _That's the truth of it. You don't want to tell them because you're afraid that they've moved on, afraid that they've outgrown you_.

"That's a lie!" she shouted, barely able to hear herself over the engine. "I want them to have moved on. I don't want to remind them of any pain I caused them!"

_Deep inside, you know that's not true. You want their lives to have ground to a halt; you want them to be dependent on you. Isn't that why you formed those bonds? You just wanted the power it gave you_.

The words circled around and around in her mind and she tried to blink them away. She fought the tears and then screamed as out of nowhere a figure appeared before her. She braked and skidded to a halt just as the figure turned, and Minako was confronted with her own face.

This face was more familiar to her than the one she wore now, for it was younger by two years. The girl wore the Gekkoukan High uniform, red headphones around her neck… but her mouth was twisted into a cruel smile and her eyes were bright orange. _Or perhaps the truth is that you don't want to go back to the seal. Perhaps the truth is that you know that seeing them would give you an excuse to stay. Admit it! You're afraid to die again!_

"I'm not!" she screamed. "I'm ready; I've been ready since I fought Nyx! I am not afraid!"

_I am simply the part of yourself that you deny_, the shadow whispered. _Come, embrace me!_

"No! You're not me!" she shrieked. "I'm nothing like you!"

The shadow cackled and everything went black.

* * *

Rise was the first one to stop. She'd been leading them, scanning ahead periodically for any sign of their saviour. "Hang on!" she shouted suddenly, stopping and summoning Kouzeon. "Something _huge_ is happening down there!" Mitsuru stopped and turned to watch as Rise's eyes leapt about the visor Kouzeon held before her eyes, reading the information she and her persona were divining about the way ahead.

The ground beneath their feet began to tremble. "There's a building down there…" Junpei said. Mitsuru whipped around to see where he was pointing, but Akihiko spotted it first.

"Is it just me, or does it look like the school…?" he said, squinting.

Then, before their eyes, the building began to stretch. From the air itself, new constructions seemed to spring forth, staircases and curved hallways leading nowhere that seemed to glow. Above their heads the sky turned sour and the sun was replaced by a full moon, it's bright green light illuminating the tower before them even as it continued to grow. They watched, mouths agape, as the tower reached higher than it seemed should be possible. A fell wind blew about them, and Mitsuru spoke.

"Tartarus."


	8. Chapter 8

**At last! The chapter you've all been waiting for... sort of? :D I'm glad everyone liked shadow-Minako, as that was really the idea that created the story. What would she push down within herself and how would that be twisted by the shadow? Enjoy!**

* * *

"It's a shadow dungeon," Rise said, and they all turned to see Kouzeon disappear. Rise looked around at the assembled crowd. "Just like we all had."

"Man this stuff really is starting up again," Yosuke muttered. Then he fell silent, realising whose shadow dungeon this had to be.

"Who could form Tartarus as a part of their inner darkness?" Mitsuru mused out loud, her arms folded and fingers drumming a regular tattoo on her upper arm. "Kujikawa, can you sense anything about the person behind the dungeon?"

"From this far I can only get a general feeling of the emotions behind it." When Mitsuru didn't speak, Rise summoned Kouzeon and examined the information collected. "There's anger, but that's fairly typical and usually internal. There's also… there's this huge fear of being lost. She's really lonely," Rise said in a tone of realisation.

"You think it is the same woman who rescued us?" Mitsuru asked. Rise nodded sharply.

"Well then I suggest we head back to Inaba for today to recuperate and I'll have a Kirijo jet pick up Yamagishi rather than leave it to commercial flights. The sooner the team is here the better. If we can begin exploring this dungeon in a day or two we're making good progress."

* * *

"She'll be alright senpai, won't she?" Rise asked. They'd separated at Junes, with the investigation team heading home except for Chie, who was spending the night at the Amagi Inn with Yukiko while her parents were out of town. "I mean, we were all in there a little while."

"She should be," Yu replied. "I'll call Marie when I get back, see if she's got anything to add."

"That's a good idea. How do we know when it'll be too late though? The fog's gone now so how can we tell?"

"I don't know," he sighed. "But I think this is more to do with Nyx than with Izanami, so perhaps the fog wouldn't help anyway. Maybe we should look at the moon? Arisato-san said that was pivotal in their encounters with the shadows."

"Hmm, good idea. I'll check when the next full moon is when I get in." They walked hand in hand for a while before Rise spoke again. "It's like we can never have more than five minutes without shadows butting in," she grumbled. "I hope the rest of my life isn't like that."

"I think that'd be alright, as long as you were there to watch my back," Yu replied, squeezing her hand. She blushed, but smiled up at him.

"Aww, you always know exactly what to say. And we talked about that – a limpet, remember?"

"An exceptionally clingy limpet."

"Hey!" she punched him lightly on the shoulder. "A girl might get offended if you keep doing that."

"Maybe we'll get a proper date in, when this is all done, and I can make it up to you?"

"Yeah, I'd like that."

* * *

Yukari set down her bags and stretched. Hours on the train from Tokyo had left her stiff and sore, but the news that the Inn had an outdoor hot spring had revitalised her somewhat.

"I will wait here," Aigis said, setting down her own bags.

"Are you sure you don't mind?" Yukari asked, "I don't have to go, if you want the company?"

"It's fine," Aigis replied, smiling. "I do not feel stiffness the way you do. The spring will have no beneficial properties and it would be difficult to hide my true nature from any other guests."

"Alright, I'll try not to be too long."

"Perhaps I should stand guard and prevent unnecessary executions?" Aigis suggested.

"Let's hope that won't be a problem," Yukari laughed. "Given Junpei's expression I'm pretty sure Mitsuru already scared any plans like that out of his head." She changed quickly and grabbed a towel, heading down the corridor to the baths. The water was beautifully warm, and she settled down with a contented sigh.

Except for two girls on the other side of the pool, she was alone and glad to be so. She'd been on a busy train all day and the space and privacy was welcome – especially after the reaction her director had had when she'd explained she was taking a week of personal leave.

"_Crisis or no crisis!" _He had shouted, _"I expect my stars to be here all day every day!"_

Thankfully, the studio lot had been owned by the Kirijo corporation (Yukari wasn't entirely convinced that Mitsuru hadn't bought it out just in case something like this had happened) and a little pressure in the right places had left Yukari free to travel to Inaba and return to the fight against the shadows.

The two girls, maybe a couple of years younger than she was, were starting to stare at her. Yukari didn't mind particularly – she'd grown used to it over the past two years, ever since she took the role as Pink Argus in Phoenix Ranger. She smiled at them and, encouraged, one of them sidled over to her.

"Umm, excuse me," the girl said cautiously. "You're Yukari Takeba, right?"

"That's me," she replied smiling.

"Wow!" the girl said, turning to her friends. "I didn't expect it to actually be _that_ Yukari Takeba. She turned back, her eyes wide and shining. "You're Kirijo's friend, right?"

"I am actually," Yukari said, surprised.

"I'm Chie Satonaka," the girl introduced herself, settling down a respectful distance from Yukari, "And this is Yukiko Amagi. We're on the team from Inaba." She grinned. "We've got two famous people now, this is awesome!"

"Two?"

"Yeah, Rise's been our team for ages. Risette, that is. She did a guest spot in your show a few weeks back."

"Oh yeah, Kujikawa." Yukari cast her mind back. Like most guest stars, Rise had been whirled into the studio, filmed her scenes and then whirled back out in the space of a few very efficient days, but from what little contact they'd had the girl had been sweet.

"Did Kirijo-san fill you in on what happened today, Takeba?" Chie asked.

"She did, but it was very rushed. She was busy trying to arrange Fuuka's new and improved travel plans. And just call me Yukari." She smiled. "We're gonna be working together, after all."

"Great, then you can call me Chie." Chie looked at Yukiko expectedly, and she smiled and nodded.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what I can learn from you," she said, bowing her head slightly. "Iori said you were their strongest healer?"

"Well, yeah I guess," Yukari laughed, slightly embarrassed, "But Mitsuru-senpai told me about your persona abilities and I think I might be the one learning from you." Yukiko beamed at the complement.

"It's strange to be fighting shadows again," Yukari went on, leaning her head back, "Especially without Mina here to keep us on our toes."

"Yeah," Chie said uncomfortably, "We heard about that. I'm sorry."

"I spent a long time wondering why she did it," Yukari said at last, "But you know… in the end, I just came to the conclusion that she knew what she was doing. For months I wanted to go back and pull her away, the fall be damned if preventing it meant she had to die. But Mina wouldn't want that. We all climbed the tower that night knowing we probably wouldn't head back down. We'd encountered death before, but knowing we were literally going to face it," she shivered despite the hot water. "It was something else."

She thought back to those nights – five of them standing out in her memory. The night Mitsuru's father had died. The night Shinjiro had been shot. The night Chidori had sacrificed herself to save Junpei. The night Minako had fought Nyx alone. Graduation day. Death had dogged them throughout their journey. Would it find one of them this time?

"I think it's very admirable," Yukiko said quietly, "That you all came here after that. You lost someone very precious, but you still put your lives on the line to protect others."

"Well, yeah," Yukari said, grinning slightly. "That's what Mina would've wanted, after all. Try not to mention her in front of the others though – particularly Akihiko-senpai and Mitsuru-senpai. She blames herself for getting Mina involved, and he blames himself for not being there to protect her."

"Who do you blame?" Chie asked after a moment.

"Hmm? Oh, Aigis and I gave up blaming anyone. We… well we had a really huge fight over the whole thing, actually. It made me think about it for a while. Apportioning blame to anyone takes away from what Mina did, you know? She fought Nyx alone knowing it would kill her, but she went anyway because there was a chance she could save everyone else. Aigis showed me that I had to respect that, and not blame others or myself. Speaking of which, I promised her I wouldn't be too long." She stood and headed over to the robes. As she tied the sash, she turned back to the girls.

"You could come meet her, if you want? Aigis, I mean. Mitsuru-senpai said she'd be busy until late, so she's working somewhere else in the building."

"Cool," Chie said enthusiastically. "Let's go."

* * *

"Anything from Marie?" Rise asked.

"No luck," Yu replied, slipping the phone between his ear and his shoulders as he continued to prepare dinner. "I left a voice message though, and she's due for a visit in a couple of weeks anyway. Did you check up on the full moon?"

"We've got a little while yet," she said. He could hear her biting at her fingernails, something she only did when supremely nervous. "Maybe about as long as we used to get before the fog set in?" There was a pause and Yu put the dumplings into the steamer.

"Is she going to be alright senpai?" Rise asked quietly.

"I don't know," he said honestly, "But we should probably tell SEES about her return before this goes too far."

"I will," Rise said miserably. "I'll tell them tomorrow after we've seen the dungeon."

"Why not before?"

"Kirijo terrifies me. I want her tired first."

"Just make sure you don't leave it too late," he warned her as he gave the soup a slight stir, dropping in a pinch of salt.

"I won't."

"Alright then, I've got to go, dinner's nearly done. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Love you senpai."

"You too. Bye."

* * *

Later that evening, Chie and Yukiko left Yukari and Aigis to sleep and headed slowly to the private part of the Inn where Yukiko and her family lived. "I still feel bad not telling them," Chie said anxiously. "They're going to find out sooner or later and they're all nice people too."

"Do you think it really is her shadow dungeon?" Yukiko asked.

"I have no idea. I mean, she couldn't summon a persona that night the shadow attacked here, so I guess it'd make sense that she'd have to face herself to summon it."

"I thought it might be simpler than that," Yukiko replied. "Kirijo said that summoning a persona with the evoker was tied to fear and self-preservation, after all."

"What, you think she has no self-preservation?"

"Well she was desperate to get back to the seal, wasn't she? First time she got there, she died to do it. Maybe on some level she thinks doing the same will get her there again?"

"Let's hope not," Chie said.

"Yeah."

"Well either way, we'll charge in tomorrow and take on this tower. How many floors did Iori say the original had?"

"Two hundred and sixty three."

"I'm not even gonna have to do any training after all that," Chie announced, grinning. "Come on; let's get a decent night's sleep. I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted."

* * *

They gathered in a large meeting room above Junes that Mitsuru had commandeered. With the arrival of Yukari and Aigis the previous evening and Shinjiro that morning, there were now too many of them for the Food Court to be a feasible meeting place. She'd also had a large television moved in to simplify matters.

"The forward team should stay the same," Yu said, once again flicking through the ability sheets Mitsuru had given him, "But I'd suggest we put Takeba …"

"Yukari's fine," she interrupted.

"Hey, it took months before I could call you that!" Junpei objected.

"That's because you're obnoxious and have terrible B.O," Yukari shot at him.

"I do not!"

"Do so, Stupei."

"Oh God, I knew it was only a matter of time before _that_ gem came out of the repository of Yukari Takeba's immense wit."

"Stop it," Mitsuru snapped. "You're adults, not children."

"Yukari, then," Yu pressed on, "Along with Ken," Ken smiled his appreciation at being included, "Teddie and Junpei. Everyone else should stay outside in case of another shadow here." Though there had been no further attacks, everyone agreed it was better to be safe than sorry.

"That is similar to my own thoughts," Mitsuru replied with a nod of the head.

"I'm ready sensei!" Teddie exclaimed, bouncing up and down in his seat.

"Make sure to keep an eye on the kid, Takeba," Akihiko instructed.

"I'm not a kid," Ken protested. "I've been fighting shadows almost as long as Yukari has as well."

"Almost being the key word there."

"I will Akihiko-senpai," she assured him, checking her evoker was strapped in place and swinging her quiver over her shoulder.

"I'll check in on you guys every now and then if you don't fall to far behind," Rise said.

"Thanks." Yukari smiled at her. "Shall we?"

The fox yipped, and they took it as a signal to head through the television. They emerged right outside the huge tower, and Yukari was silent for a while, simply staring at it. Finally, Junpei broke the silence.

"You know, I think it's smaller than I remember."

"You talking about your brain, Stupei?"

"You wound me, Yuka-tan. Seriously."

"I'm ready to go sensei!" Teddie said. There was a strange, squeaky set of footsteps and the members of SEES turned to see…

"What the hell is that?" Junpei asked as his eyebrows disappeared under his cap.

"Yeah, that's Teddie," Yosuke said, shaking his head. "This is what he looked like when we first met him."

"What's with the suit?" Yukari was looking at him with a confused expression.

"The ladies love it!" Teddie exclaimed.

"This explains the puns I guess…" Junpei admitted

"I make beartiful jokes!"

"That was poor Teddie," Yu commented. "I'm actually a little ashamed on your behalf."

"When we met him, Teddie was a shadow," Yukiko explained. "He became human later on."

"Fascinating," Mitsuru exclaimed. "Teddie, would you mind coming into a Kirijo facility one day so that we might examine you. A shadow human enough to have gained a persona is unusual to say the least."

"We tried taking him to a hospital once," Yu said shaking his head. "No results."

"Our technology is far more advanced when it comes to shadows," Mitsuru assured him. "Very well, if everyone is ready we should move out." She led the way through the double doors and into the all too familiar Tartarus entry hall. To one side stood the mysterious teleportation device, and ahead of them was the strange door that led into the tower proper. Even the clock was there. The motorbike lay abandoned on its side, keys in the ignition but engine cut off. "Looks like our mysterious victim ran up the tower from here," Mitsuru said. "Shall we?" She turned to Yu, who nodded.

"Let's go."

"The first block is called Thebel," Mitsuru said as they prepared their weapons, "It's short, only sixteen floors. We should easily clear it today."

The forward team headed up the stairs, Yu at the lead and Mitsuru right behind him. Both she and Akihiko had unbuttoned the holsters of their evokers and their hands were positioned ready to draw.

The moment the door closed behind them the shadows were upon them. They were weak enough, and they cut through them with little problem, not even bothering to call upon their personas. Yu and Mitsuru led the charge, swords flashing, With Akihiko flanking them and Yukiko throwing her fan at anything that threatened to launch a distance attack. Barely speaking, the moved up the tower, floor after floor.

Mitsuru counted each level as they progressed, but after six Rise made them stop. "It's weird," she said, scanning their surroundings. "I think we moved up more than one level on that last staircase."

"Can you estimate how many?" Mitsuru asked.

"Well… I can't sense the guys on the ground floor anymore, and the reserve team are twelve floors below us. I'd say we jumped at least seven floors."

"That's quite a large portion of Thebel," Mitsuru said thoughtfully. "It will be interesting to see what Yamagishi can detect about the rest of the tower when she arrives."

"The stairs are that way," Rise said pointing to the left. Then she hesitated. She swallowed and behind her visor Rise's eyes flicked over to Yu, who nodded. "And there's something powerful above us. Possibly it's the shadow in control of the dungeon." Kouzeon vanished and Rise very suddenly looked incredibly tired.

"Kirijo," she began hesitantly, choosing her words as carefully as the situation allowed. "I… I know whose shadow dungeon this is." Her tone was heavy and her shoulders had drooped, the weight of her words lying heavily upon them.

Mitsuru frowned, but it was Akihiko who spoke. "You knew who that was on the motorbike?"

"My motorbike," Mitsuru seethed. "Yet more stolen from Kirijo storage."

"I…. yes. I do. She came to me a few days ago and asked for my help…"

Something about her tone made Mitsuru pause for a moment. There was an edge of desperation to it, as though she was pleading for understanding. "She didn't want you to know because she thought she'd have to go back, thought it would be best if you never saw her but then you were here in Inaba and it was the last thing anyone expected and she didn't know what to do and she made me promise I wouldn't say…" Rise seemed to realise that she was rambling, speaking far too fast for the others to follow. It didn't matter, however, Mitsuru had understood enough, and the pieces began to fall into place.

"How far away is this shadow?" she asked quietly.

"The next floor," Rise said weakly. Mitsuru gestured for Akihiko to follow. She stalked ahead of the group, not looking back and refusing the believe what Rise's words seemed to mean.

Silence filled the halls of Thebel as they climbed the stairs Mitsuru lead them up to the next floor. Here they found another receiver for the teleportation device down on level one, which she activated with a cursory touch before heading through the corridor beyond.

She had barely taken five steps when she stopped very suddenly, her breath catching in her throat. Before them, sitting on the ground with her legs drawn up tight, was a girl with short, wavy brown hair. She wore a Gekkoukan High uniform, and she was crying.

Together, Mitsuru and Akihiko ran forward without even questioning what they were seeing. Only Yukiko's shout and the brief moment of hesitation that caused saved them as, without any warning, the figure lunged forward. Her eyes were orange, lips twisted into a cruel smile. She laughed as Mitsuru staggered back and the shadows hands brushing at the front of her ruffled blouse.

"Arisato?" Mitsuru asked numbly.

"It's not her," Rise said firmly. "It's a shadow."

"It's _her _shadow," Yu said, pulling Akihiko back as he made to move forwards once again.

The shadow lurched to her feet, grin widening as she surveyed the five of them. "Aki!" she exclaimed, her voice echoing unnaturally through the hall. "You'll save me, won't you? You won't let me go back to that darkness?"

"What are you?" Akihiko demanded. "What are you talking about?"

The shadow faltered. "Say you _need_ me senpai," she said, her voice dropping low, her eyes widening in a pleading expression. She held her hands out. "Tell me you want me." She drew her hands back at those words, running them down her body, emphasising her figure. "You do want me, senpai, don't you?"

"It's not really her!" Rise said desperately, "What she's saying it isn't real, Sanada."

"Rise!" Minako exclaimed, skipping forward a few steps. "You need me, don't you? You were so happy when I came back, tell me you need me?"

Yukiko and Yu, the only two who didn't really know Minako, glanced uneasily at their companions. Mitsuru's face had drained of all colour and it seemed that every inch of muscle in Akihiko's body had tensed up.

"Where is Minako-senpai?" Rise shouted. "What have you done to her?"

"I _am_ her, Rise. You know that. Please, tell me you need me!" she pressed her hands against her chest, fingers splayed. Again her eyes were beseeching.

"I don't need you!" Rise shouted. "I need my actual friend. WHERE IS SHE?!" She shouted the last words and without any warning she leapt forwards.

"Ah ah ah," Minako said, dancing nimbly backwards. "If you're going to be so rude, you can meet my _real_ friends!" There was a flash of light and Minako's shadow was gone, replaced by a large shadow of two colours – black and white, split straight down the middle. A pink mask covered the upper portion of its face. The arcana priestess.

"Ishtar!" Yu shouted, sending a bolt of lightning at the thing. It cried out, but it was a sound of pleasure rather than pain, a bubbling laugh rising from the shadows chest as she leant backwards. He lunged forward and brought his sword crashing down, but all that did was bring yet more laughter from the shadow.

"Agidyne!" Yukiko yelled, and fire blossomed across the shadow as the two members of SEES attacked. Rise stepped hurriedly backwards out of firing range and summoned Kouzeon.

"Yukiko, watch out!" she cried as ice formed around the four of them. Yukiko cried out, falling back and giving the shadow an opportunity which it seized, summoning a small Muttering Tiara.

"Use fire on it!" Rise told them.

"Mahakala!" Yu shouted, fire burning the thing away instantly, but again giving the priestess a moment to attack. She swiped at Akihiko, but he took the blow with barely a grunt even as Yukiko clambered to her feet. Two more Muttering Tiara's shimmered into being, and she smashed her card to summon Sume-Omikami. Burning petals surrounded all three shadows and they screamed, the priestess throwing her head back in pleasure as she did so. She raised a hand lazily, pointing it at Akihiko. He had been rushing forwards, but as she pointed he stopped in his tracks. A strange pink light flickered in his eyes and he turned, gunning straight for Yu.

Yu shouted and dodged the first punch only for the second to take him in the gut. Hurriedly, Yukiko summoned Sume-Omikami once more, and the light of Salvation shone around all of them. Akihiko's fist stopped less than an inch before Yu's nose and he stepped back, appalled. Yu shook his head – it was nothing – and stood.

Mitsuru edged forward, throwing a small red gem at the shadow. It exploded, and she followed it up with a series of slashes with her sword and a sharp kick.

"Quick," Yukiko shouted, "While it's down."

"I'm with you!" Rise exclaimed as she focused her power on strengthening their blows as the four fighters rushed at the shadow. It was Yukiko who dealt the finishing blow, and the thing cried out. Her hand reached for the ceiling above her and she fell backwards before dissolving into a puddle of black goo.

Rise dismissed Kouzeon and hurried closer. "That was like the one outside," Akihiko panted. "Another arcana shadow." He turned to Rise, and she shrank back before the fury in his eyes.

"Explain exactly what just happened," he said slowly, "And do it very quickly."


	9. Chapter 9

**So two updates in one day. :D I wouldn't get used to it, just be warned! I'll be honest, I really like this chapter, and the next (which still needs some fine tuning). I've nearly reached the point I had drafted out when the story began (Chapter 12), after which we'll hit part two. As this isn't written yet, it'll either update slowly or have a few weeks break followed by a similar update schedule to these chapters, I haven't decided which yet. **

**Thanks to the couple of reviews since earlier, I'm really astounded at how well this story has been received!  
**

* * *

They progressed to the end of Thebel in terse silence. Although the barricade sank away before them, they silently agreed that this was enough for today. They were tired and would progress faster once Fuuka joined them. Both the rest of SEES and the Investigation Team could tell something was wrong from the stony expressions on Mitsuru and Akihiko's face. Added to that, Rise looked as though she'd been crying.

Once on the other side, SEES headed straight back to the Amagi Inn. Mitsuru told the rest of the team to meet her and Akihiko in one of the smaller function rooms in ten minutes and then left, leaving them to wonder what on Earth was going on.

"Geez, Mitsuru-senpai's scary when she's mad," Junpei said, kicking back. He, Yukari, Ken and Aigis had headed straight to the room and were waiting for the others there. "Who d'you think she's pissed at?"

"I'd say it's Kujikawa," Yukari replied.

"She was noticeably colder to the entire Investigation Team," Aigis noted.

"Hmm, yeah that's true," Junpei agreed. "What do you think Ken?"

"I'm with Aigis on this one," he replied, patting Koromaru absently.

"It's a wonder she didn't execute the whole bunch I reckon," Junpei shuddered.

At that moment the door opened and Mitsuru and Akihiko strode in, Shinjiro slouching behind them. "Yamagishi has just arrived," Mitsuru announced. "She'll be here momentarily." She seemed to have calmed down slightly, but her eyes still boiled with fury, and her shoulders were rigidly straight. No one spoke until Fuuka hurried through the door. She looked exhausted, but she smiled at everyone all the same.

"Hello everyone," she said, bending down to scratch Koromaru behind the ear.

"Please, Yamagishi, sit. The situation is quite… it's…" Mitsuru was lost for words, which spoke more about the gravity of the situation than anything she could have actually said. She looked to Akihiko, but he was staring down at the table wordlessly.

"Come on, it can't be that bad," Junpei said, attempting to inject some levity into the situation. No one laughed. "Seriously senpai, what happened in there?"

"We fought another arcana shadow," Akihiko said. "Priestess this time."

"Was it the same as the one on the train?"

"I believe so," Mitsuru answered.

"Is that it?" Junpei asked, unimpressed. "We know how to deal with that this time – we just don't kill them, right?"

"We believe the remaining shadows will be dotted throughout Tartarus," Mitsuru said, her voice even. "If we want to rescue the person whose shadow dungeon it is, we'd need to defeat all the shadows we come across until we find her."

"Man that's tough," Junpei said after a moment. "Did you find out who it is in there?"

"Yes. It's…"

"It's Minako's," Akihiko said hollowly, finally looking up from the table. "She's back."

"That's not all that funny senpai," Junpei said once the silence had stretched too far.

"It's not a joke."

"What?" Yukari asked, her voice shaking slightly. "That's ridiculous she'd have come straight to us if she was back."

"Apparently not," Mitsuru replied heavily. "Kujikawa knew Minako before she moved to Iwatodai. Before she returned to Inaba for the summer, Minako arrived at her hotel. Apparently she knew about the Investigation Team and wanted their help."

"_Their _help?" Junpei asked incredulously. "This is stupid, why are we even talking about this. Minako-chin'd come straight to us if she needed anything."

"Kujikawa claims she didn't want us to know she was back at all. Apparently it's only temporary."

"What's she gonna do?" Ken asked. "Kill herself again? We have to go back and find her before it's too late!"

"Now that we have the full team, I believe we are ready to begin a full scale climb of the tower," Mitsuru said quietly.

"Hang on," Yukari said, "A moment ago you said you'd fought the second arcana shadow. Do you think the other ten will be in there?"

"It does seem likely."

"I think we must consider," Aigis said slowly, "What Minako would have wanted us to do."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Akihiko asked angrily.

"She sacrificed herself to prevent the fall. Is it right of us to risk instigating it again, even to save her life?" Aigis spoke calmly, her tone more robotic than it had been in almost two years. Everyone was quiet as they digested her words.

"I think Aigis has a point," Ken said slowly. "But we could still try finding her, couldn't we? I mean, we don't even have to have this conversation until there's only one shadow left right? As long as we leave the Hanged Man well alone we should be fine."

"A good argument, Amada. I suggest now that Yamagishi is with us we form a new strategy."

"And what's that gonna be?" Shinjiro grunted his first contribution to the conversation.

"We're going to throw everything we have at this tower. Everyone take a copy of this." She handed out a pile of paper and everyone took a sheet.

"These are the Investigation Team's abilities?" Junpei asked hesitantly.

"Yes. Learn them tonight. We may have to fight them if things go sour tomorrow."

"That's very extreme," Yukari said alarmed. "They seem nice enough…"

"They lied to us, Takeba. They _all _knew exactly who was in that shadow dungeon and they had ample opportunity to inform us. I will take no chances that they have been any less deceitful elsewhere. Learn their strengths and weaknesses, and make sure to protect your own Achilles' heel before we enter Tartarus tomorrow."

* * *

Akihiko went running again that evening. Without even realising it he followed the same path he had before and found himself outside the Haberdashery.

"Akihiko!" a voice shouted to him. He whirled around, anger flashing in his eyes.

"You don't get to call me that," he spat. "You don't get to lie to my face and then act as though we're friends."

Kanji flinched backwards, Akihiko's words like a slap to his face. _Good_, Akihiko found himself thinking. He shook his head and turned to run on, knowing Kanji wasn't worth his time.

"Rise said you were the only thing that made her cry." The words made him pull up short once again, but he didn't turn around. "Said that the whole time she's been back she's barely shown two real emotions, and most of 'em have been directly related to you in some way, either anger or pain. She asked us to keep it a secret, and man I know it was the wrong thing to do." Akihiko did look back now and he saw that Kanji was shaking his head. "Heck it was probably the worst thing we could'a done, but she was broken. Deep down inside. Ain't no one gonna say no to someone that damaged."

Akihiko ran on and on and on, until his legs burned and yet the pain could never be enough. It could never be what he deserved.

* * *

Yukari sat on the steps to the Inn, staring up at the stars overhead. The moon was barely a sliver, the new moon mere days away.

"Yo, Yuka-tan," a subdued voice said, and she didn't look around as someone sat on the stairs beside her. She felt rather than saw Junpei turn his head up to the sky as well, and silence sat between them for a while.

"Do you think it's really her?" Yukari asked eventually. Junpei shrugged.

"Dunno. Kind of want it to be and don't at the same time, y'know? I mean, I want her back, no question, but…" he hesitated and sighed. "I guess if she's back I'd want her pretty much anywhere but there."

"She always dived headfirst into problems," Yukari laughed slightly. Then she realised she was crying. Hastily, she moved to scrub her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt, but all she managed to do was smear mascara on her cuff, and the tears soon dissolved into full on sobs.

"Hey, use this," Junpei said, handing over a handkerchief. She eyed it suspiciously and he looked at her, affronted. "It's clean," he protested. She laughed through her tears and hiccupped as she dabbed at her eyes.

"I just… I missed her _so much_," she whispered. "But I thought I'd moved on. I told myself I had… but…"

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "I know." Silence again.

"Sorry, it's covered in make up now." Yukari broke the calm once again, holding out the now slightly damp handkerchief.

"Keep it," Junpei said. He was staring at the moon again. "D'you think Nyx is gonna come back?"

"I don't know."

"Guess we can only wait and see. If Ryoji comes knocking, we'll just deck him pre-emptively."

"I'm not sure that's how it works." Yukari smiled nonetheless.

"Yeah well, either way I'm gonna be ready for a fight tomorrow," he said. "That's what we do right? We fight, whatever happens."

"Yeah."

"Good." He stood and turned to head inside. "See ya, Yuka-tan."

"Junpei," she called to him just before he closed the door behind him. "Thanks."

* * *

They arrived at Junes early the next day and Mitsuru gave instruction to her security to ensure that the Investigation team were kept well away from the electronics department. They locked the function room behind them, and headed through the television. Fuuka, having never entered the TV before, was taken in by Yukari.

Koromaru remained at the base of the tower to watch over her, settling in front of Juno in an alert and ready position. Now far more rested than she had been the night before, Fuuka scanned the tower for them.

"_The height is an illusion_," she said after a moment, her voice echoing in their minds. "_There are huge jumps between floors. I'd guess there are maybe fifty in total before you reach the roof_."

They wasted no time returning to the floor on which they'd first met Minako, a full contingent of SEES rather than simply a forward team. Mitsuru lead them, although her icy façade had not changed since she emerged from Tartarus the previous afternoon. Floor after floor they fought their way up the tower, attacking any shadow that came within shouting distance.

It was not long before they encountered another arcana shadow, this time the Emperor and the Empress. They stood waiting, together as before, on what roughly equated to the sixtieth floor of the tower.

"_They're so much stronger than they were last time," _Fuuka told them. _"Start with physical attacks on the Emperor and Fire on the Empress."_

"Let's get this done," Shinji grunted, hauling Mjolnir into position and leading the charge.

* * *

"They won't let us anywhere near electronics!" Yosuke fumed. "I work here, what gives them the right?"

"The Kirijo name does," Chie said glumly. "That's what money does."

"Yeah well it ain't right," Kanji said angrily. "We've got just as much interest in stopping shadows as they do."

"Well, maybe not this time," Naoto countered.

"Kirijo-san was very angry yesterday, wasn't she?" Rise said quietly. She'd been unusually subdued that morning.

"Not gonna lie, I thought she was going to kill us," Yosuke muttered. "We'll have to go in another way," he decided. "Any TV will do right?"

"From what I can tell as long as it's in Inaba, yeah," Yu replied. "We'll have to hope Teddie finds us quickly though, I don't much fancy getting lost in the other world."

"We could end up pretty much anywhere," Yukiko said worriedly.

"Well there's not much else we can do," Yosuke pointed out. "We could always leave them to it, I guess?"

"Like that's an option," Rise snapped.

"Woah, woah alright. Let's go find a TV then."

* * *

"Everyone drink one of these," Mitsuru ordered the group, distributing bottles of Yawn B Gone from the bag she'd been wearing slung across her back. She took one herself, downing the highly caffeinated beverage. The others followed suit, and Yukari grimaced. She eyed the bag and wondered just how many of the things Mitsuru had brought along.

A short distance away, the Empress was still bubbling into nothing, the Emperor long since dispatched. "Yamagishi," Mitsuru said. "Can you detect any of the remaining arcana shadows?"

"_I can catch glimpses of them,"_ she replied. _"They are all in the tower, but I can't say exactly where."_

"We will proceed as planned then." They had barely taken two steps, however, when Fuuka gasped.

"_People in the tower!"_ she exclaimed. _"Dotted about on the floors above you!"_

"The Investigation Team!" Mitsuru cursed.

"_They're attacking the arcana shadows!" _

"Everyone, get to the stairs now!" They didn't need telling twice. They ran, but as they reached the stairs everything around them began to shift.

"_What's happening?"_ Fuuka asked, her voice edging into panic. _"You're being separated. Be careful!"_

* * *

Ken's head ached and the world was spinning away from under his feet. He blinked and the walls were suddenly gold. _Tziah_. There was shouting ahead, combined with the grunts and crashes of battle. Instinctively he dashed forwards and saw two members of the investigation team fighting ahead of him.

There was a single shadow, and it was not one he had fought personally. "Fuuka," he shouted, "Which one is it?"

"_You're with Chariot and Justice!"_ she replied after a brief delay. _"They may separate, but be sure to destroy them at the same time!"_

"Are any of the shadows unopposed?" he asked.

"_I can't sense anyone fighting the Hanged Man, but I've lost contact with Aigis. She's not in the tower."_

Ken cursed and charged, pole arm extended. He cried out as he ran and Yosuke heard him just in time to pull Chie to one side. The weapon rammed into the belly of the tank, puncturing a hole in the metal. The shadow reared back and, sure enough, the turret detached and one shadow became two.

"_Satanoka, use your best physical attacks. Hanamura, blast them with wind. Make sure to damage them equally!"_

"Right…" Yosuke said shakily. Nonetheless he stood, and a blue card hovered before him. Slashing forward with his kunai he broke the card, shouting out a name as he did so. "Takehaya Susano-o!" The persona formed in a mess of spinning metal and wind blew through the golden hallway, throwing justice back and staggering the chariot.

"Haraedo-no-Okami!" Chie bellowed, kicking her card before it had even finished forming. Huge fiery comets rained down from the ceiling, blasting at the two shadows. The chariot seemed to fall, and the once again justice became it's turret.

"_You won't be able to defeat them when they're combined,"_ Fuuka warned, but she was gone almost instantly, minding the others as well. Ken gripped his evoker, placed it to his head and shouted out. "Kala-nemi!"

* * *

Naoto braced herself as the shadow flung her back against the wall. The place was dark, too dark to really be safe for a fight, and she was not equipped to handle a single shadow this strong on her own, never mind two of them.

"Stand up!" a voice snapped at her. "Watch out for Fortune's games, they'll power up Strength if you're not careful." Her head still ringing, Naoto forced herself to her feet and blinked the stars from her eyes.

"Caesar, matarunda!"

"Yamato Sumeragi!" Naoto cried out, shooting at the card. The tiny persona hovered above her briefly and golden light illuminated their surroundings as the megadolaon landed, showing her the shadows properly for the first time even as the strange metallic horse leapt backwards.

A roulette wheel landed on the ground with a thump, and Akihiko ran forwards towards it, his eyes following the red and blue sections of the wheel. After a moment his hand darted forwards and he slammed a fist down on a large red button at the edge of the wheel. It began to stop spinning, and the shadows waited patiently for the result.

It was one of the most bizarre things Naoto had ever seen, especially when the wheel settled on blue. _"Physical attacks!" _Fuuka yelled, _"It's panicking!"_ Akihiko around to land a right hook on Strength.

The shadow did appear dazed, panicked even. Glancing at the wheel, Naoto realised what had happened and followed Fuuka's instructions, firing all the ammo left in her gun at the Strength before reaching to reload. The thing went down and Akihiko laid into it, fists flying. Fortune, barely visible and somehow untouchable, simply watched.

8888888

"Fear not! Junpei's here!" he cried, dashing forwards and firing his evoker. Trismegistus soared forwards and slammed into the shadow, a strange wolf-like creature of wire and metal. The hermit howled and to one side there was the sound of breaking glass. "Takeji Zaiten!"

As lightning flashed down towards the shadow, Mitsuru reached them. "No!" she shouted. _"Not lightning, it absorbs it!_" Fuuka's voice echoed in Mitsuru's head, and by Kanji's cursed reaction she assumed he heard her too. "Artemisia!" she fired her evoker and darted forwards to attack physically even as the ice formed around the shadow.

The thing roared and light began to pulse along it's length. _"Get clear!"_ Fuuka shouted, _that'll kill you easily!" _Mitsuru turned and ran for cover, diving even as the giga spark exploded. She was hurled back into the wall and something snapped in her left arm.

Clinically, she diagnosed the break and raised her evoker. Diarahan bonded the bone, and suddenly the wound felt weeks old, not seconds. She pushed herself upwards and saw Junpei on the floor. Kanji stood before him, having taken the giga spark head on – of course, Mitsuru reminded herself. Tatsumi was immune to lightning damage.

"Keep attacking it physically," she instructed, panting for breath. "Protect us if it tries to do that again. Bufudyne!"

* * *

"Isis! Charmdi!" Yukari sent the spell towards Shinjiro and then darted out of the way of Yukiko's fan. She had never been more grateful for the small Narcissus Flower pinned to her collar. Fighting the arcana Hierophant and the arcana Lovers individually had been difficult enough, but fighting them together?

"Again!" she cried out, and once more Isis sent a charmdi out. _"Yukari! Give the Narcissus Flower to Amagi!" _

"Alright!" she ran over to Yukiko, unpinning the flower as she went. "Take this," she gasped, holding out the small brooch to Yukiko. "If that thing charms us, send out a Salvation." Yukiko had a spell that could dis-charm and heal both Yukari and Shinjiro at the same time, not to mention that her most powerful attack simply blew Yukari's out of the water in terms of raw strength. Yukari couldn't fault Fuuka's logic, but that didn't mean she was looking forward to being charmed.

Yukiko nodded and grabbed the flower, pinning it to her cardigan even as a pink arrow slammed into her back. She staggered, but remained uncharmed.

"Fall with the petals!" she snarled. The card shattered and the attack blasted at the shadows. The Hierophant was unimpressed and raised a hand lazily. All at once, Yukiko felt fear rising in her stomach. She was going to be sick the feeling was so strong and she turned, beginning to run towards the stairs, desperate to get away only to find they were blocked. She was trapped here and she sank to the floor and began to cry.

"_No, keep fighting! You can win, I know it!"_

A slap to the face brought her spinning back to the present. "Get up," a gruff voice instructed her, and she felt a hand on her shoulder pulling her into a standing position. "Keep fighting."

He turned away instantly and headed back into the fight, lazily raising his evoker to his temple. "Castor." It wasn't even close to a shout, but the command worked all the same and his persona lunged forth at the hierophant. A golden hand crashed down at the shadow from the ceiling and crushed it, it's huge form collapsing in on itself, becoming only so much shadow slop.

One down, one to go.

* * *

"I'm coming sensei!" Teddie shouted, barrelling through the entrance to Tartarus.

"_Stop!"_ Fuuka cried out, her voice oddly distorted from within Juno.

"Where's sensei!" Teddie demanded, running full pelt into Juno only to be blasted back. At the same time, Koromaru leapt forwards and landed atop of him, teeth bared and snarling.

"_You have to stay back,"_ Fuuka said quickly. _"The tower is unstable, you could end up anywhere."_

"I have to help sensei!" Teddie rolled to the side and dislodged Koromaru, who yelped. His collar fired and Cerberus growled as Fire singed Teddie's fur, making him dart backwards. Koromaru jumped forwards and settled on the bottom step up to the door. With Fuuka standing before the teleport, there was no way for Teddie to go upstairs.

"Kamui-Mosh-" he began.

"_Please stop fighting!" _Fuuka snapped. Koromaru shrank back slightly at the tone in her voice. _"I can't help them if you're distracting me_." She added in a softer tone. Koromaru whined apologetically, but when he turned to look at Teddie his eyes were hard. _You are not getting past me_, they said.


	10. Chapter 10

**Nearly there, promise! This would have been up last night only there was a power cut and I went to bed :p Anyway, here it is now. Thanks again for all your lovely words, it really makes writing so much more enjoyable to know you're looking forward to the updates so much!**

* * *

"Hang in there!" Yukiko shouted out. The card smashed and salvation wiped the pink gleam from Shinjiro's eyes. Yukari gasped out her thanks as the silver light healed the gash across her arm. She raised her evoker and fired. "I'll show you my true power!" she shouted and Isis flashed above her head. Wind blasted at the floating heart before her, buffeting it back as Shinjiro hefted his massive hammer above his head and brought it crashing down. The thing wailed, but it wasn't done yet.

Three pink arrows flew forth and found their targets. Yukiko reached desperately for the power to summon her persona, but it was gone. Her spirit was drained and she was exhausted.

"_Use a restorative, quickly!" _Fuuka gasped.

"_I don't have any,"_ Yukiko realised with dawning horror as Yukari and Shinjiro turned towards her. _"We were going to share them out after we entered, Naoto has them!"_

"_Yukari and Shinjiro-senpai will have some then. Can you get through to them? You'll have to try!"_

Shinjiro was closer and reached her first, but the size of his hammer meant he was slow to swing and she ducked the blow and dived past him just in time to see Yukari raise her evoker. Isis healed the shadow before them and Yukiko felt her heart sink even as she scrabbled to her feet.

"Snap out of it!" she shouted, slapping Yukari with as much force as she could muster. The older girl's head snapped backwards at the blow. "I'm sorry!" Yukiko gasped, her breath coming in fits and bursts. Yukari shook herself and the colour returned to her eyes.

"_Yukari, use one of the eggs now!"_

"Got it!" Yukari reached into her pocket and drew out a small blue egg. She dropped it on the ground and stomped hard. A gas the same colour as the egg puffed into the air and as Yukiko breathed it in she felt her spirit return just in time for Shinjiro's hammer to connect with her ribs. There was a definite crack and she sprawled across the room.

"_Yukari!"_

"Isis! Charmdi and Mediarahan!" She fired twice and the persona cast both spells in quick succession.

"_This is no use!" _Fuuka shouted._ "Give Shinjiro the flower and retreat, it's relying on charm to keep you occupied!"_

"Right," Yukiko fumbled with the Narcissus flower and Shinjiro took it from her, pinning it to his hat. It looked ridiculous, but nobody laughed.

"Take them downstairs Fuuka," he instructed, hefting Mjolnir onto his shoulder, "I can't do anything to help them if they get charmed.

"_On it!"_

"No! We'll go help the others!" Yukari shouted.

"_You don't know how to get there!"_

"We'll take the stairs again then, come on!" she grabbed Yukiko's hand and began to drag her towards away from the fight and towards the stairs. Soon they were running, pink arrows littering the ground behind them as they sped up, diving for the stairs.

"Hold on tight!" Yukari shouted.

* * *

"Time to shake things up a bit!" Junpei yelled as he raised his evoker. Trismegistus flew forth and slashed down at the arcana Hermit, but still the thing charged up. The strange lights continued to pulse forward and Mitsuru yelled.

"Shield us, quickly!" she yelled at Kanji, who nodded. He stood his ground as both Mitsuru and Junpei ducked behind him. The giga spark washed over the floor, but they were left unharmed.

"Artemisia!" Bufudyne shattered around the shadow and Kanji leapt forward and swung the aegis shield at the thing. It fell back under the combined assault and the three of them took the chance. Swords and shield flashed as they attacked the shadow with everything they had and, finally, it fell. The shadow dissolved before them and they were left in the silence, gasping for breath.

"Yamagishi, where are the others?"

"_Still fighting," _she replied after a lengthy pause_. "Shinjiro-senpai defeated the hierophant, but all the other arcana shadows are still standing."_

"All of them?"

"_I can't sense the Hanged Man anymore, but I've also lost Aigis. I'm worried they may be with Narukami and Kujikawa, it's possible her persona is blocking my senses the way Chidori's could._"

"Bring us down to you," Mitsuru instructed after a moment. "We've no way to guarantee where the stairs would take us, and clearly we need to regroup."

* * *

Kala Nemi assaulted the tank even as Haraedo-no-Okami charged Justice. The shadows were flagging, but so were they. Ken was low on healing items, and the others hadn't brought any with them, meaning they were reliant upon Yosuke's one healing ability to keep them up.

"Blow through!" Yosuke shouted and the wind restored them some, but not enough. The Chariot and Justice combined once again, and Ken dived to the side as a missile launched towards him, losing his pole arm as he went. He rolled over just in time to see another rocket land a few feet away and though he had time to shield his face, there wasn't an opportunity for more.

He was blasted backwards, and from the pain in his leg he knew he'd broken something. Cursing he tried to stand, but even as Yosuke cast Youthful Wind another time Ken knew it wasn't going to be enough.

"Agneyastra!" Chie yelled. Once again meteors rained down upon the shadows. Ken pushed himself back, dragging his leg behind him.

"_Ken, I'm going to bring you down here," _Fuuka said. _"You can't fight in that condition!"_

"A few more spells and I'll be fine," he panted.

"Isis! Mediarahan!" The silver light, far stronger than anything Yosuke had, washed over him and he felt the bone knit back together.

"See," he laughed, standing and limping forwards to his pole arm. "I'll be fine."

"Turn to scarlet!" Yukiko was there as well, and the fire lashed out at the newly separated Justice and Chariot. The shadows cried out one last time, falling to the ground and fading away.

* * *

"Ziodyne!" Akihiko shouted. Again the arcana Strength was stunned and before he could say a word Naoto emptied her gun into it. The thing cried out, her hand reaching upwards as the roses that covered her began to decay, the cage upon which she stood turning to rust.

The arcana Fortune reared, it's form becoming solid even as the wheel fell before them once more. Naoto leapt forwards to slam her hand down upon the button, but the blue sections were far too small and it landed on red.

"_Hang in there!"_ Fuuka's voice echoed in Akihiko's head even as he felt something huge slam into him. He felt suddenly exhausted, and it took all he had to drag himself upright. _"Shiragane!" _Fuuka exclaimed. Even as he glanced over, Naoto collapsed into unconsciousness and he cursed, pulling out a revival bead and dashing over to her. Knowing the shadow would not attack, he dropped his evoker and forced the bead between her lips.

Almost instantly she coughed into wakefulness, shaking her head slightly as she stood. She glanced at Fortune and her eyes were ice. The card flared before her eyes and she smashed it with the butt of her gun. "Yamato Sumeragi!"

Almighty light filled the hall and the shadow dissolved. A moment later, Mitsuru appeared beside him. She glanced from him to the dissolving shadow. "Yamagishi, what happened?"

"_This place is interfering with Juno's abilities,"_ the reply came after a moment. _"You scattered again when I tried to bring you back."_

"Where are the others?"

"I'm here," Junpei said, coming around the corner. "Man that was not pleasant." He shook his head.

"_Sorry, Junpei. Tatsumi is with Yukari, Ken and a few members of the investigation team."_

"And Shinjiro?"

"_Shinjiro-senpai is still fighting the arcana lovers."_ There was a brief pause. _"No, he just defeated it."_

"Is there any way to bring the groups together?" Mitsuru asked.

"_Umm… Yukari and Amagi took the stairs earlier," _Fuuka said eventually. _"Perhaps if the groups on lower levels went up holding hands to prevent separation?"_

"Good idea. Who is lowest?"

"_Shinjiro-senpai."_

"Very well, tell him to progress up the stairs, and we'll move the groups upwards as they reunite."

* * *

"Senpai, it's preparing to attack again!" Heeding Rise's words, Yu raised his sword before himself for the Akhasha Arts that were bound to come. He'd been fighting for nearly fifteen minutes straight and he was spent. How much did this thing have left?

"There's someone coming!" Rise exclaimed. "A persona user… four floors away… three… two… they're here!" He span and was knocked off his feet before he could see who had come to join them. The pair of them sprawled across the room but his assailant recovered first. "You mustn't fight the Hanged Man," Aigis said calmly, pinning him down with one arm across his neck.

"Senpai, the statues are back!" Rise shouted, ducking behind a wall as the three statues in the centre of the chamber began to open. Fire flared around both Yu and Agis, but still she did not move. Grimacing, he summoned a blue card and held it tight in one hand.

"Don't make me do this," he said quietly.

"I will not allow you to defeat this shadow."

"Then I'm sorry. Ishtar!" he shouted the last word and the goddess of love appeared above them, a bolt of sparkling electricity shooting down to strike Aigis, who rolled to the side just in time to dodge. Yu took the hit, Ishtar's own power blocking any damage.

"Persona: Ishtar," Aigis said, turning to face him. "Strength: electricity. Weakness: wind." She reached into her pocket and sent something spinning to land at Yu's feet. He glanced down and cursed. Knowing he couldn't change his persona in time he dived to one side instead as the gale magatama went off. It caught his feet and he tripped, landing face first on the ground as ice from one of the three shadows lanced against his side. He hissed in pain and blinked. _Crack_. Ishtar faded from his mind to be replaced by Loki.

"Niflheim!" he cried out, aiming at the statue that cast fire.

"Persona: Loki, weakness: fire." Aigis intoned from behind him and he span even as she called out, "I need your help!" Athena rose into the air behind her and Yu realised what was coming a second too late. Fire lanced through him and he cried out in pain.

"Fight with me!" he shouted, shifting persona once more – Izanagi-no-Okami this time. "It'll only kill you too if we don't defeat it."

"My own survival is not necessary," Aigis intoned, her voice cold. "You must not defeat the Hanged Man. Athena!" Again her persona attacked, but Yu absorbed the fire, changing his persona back to Ishtar at the very last moment. "Ziodyne!" he cried out, even as the final shadow statue attacked. Lightning flashed down upon Aigis from two sources and she had no time to avoid either attack. Her entire body began to spasm and sparks flew from her shoulder.

Her eyes widened, pupils dilating as she sank to the ground. "How dare you!" a voice spat at him and Yu's heart sank. He looked past the now incapacitated Aigis to see Mitsuru Kurijo, far angrier than he'd ever seen anyone ever before. Members of the Investigation Team stepped forwards, glancing between Yu and Aigis with confusion, their eyes asking the question they didn't voice.

"Fan out!" Mitsuru ordered. "Restrain them."

SEES leapt into action at her words. Under Mitsuru's instruction they had learned the skills of their counterparts in the Investigation Team as Aigis had, and this proved useful now. Mitsuru turned her attention to Yukiko, who had already been targeted by the ice of a statue and had become distracted. Mitsuru pulled the trigger of her evoker and Yukiko jumped and turned even as Artemisia set a block of ice around her. She cried out and various members of the Investigation Team ran to her defence without hesitation.

Junpei sent Trismegistus at Chie, launching a fiery charge as Yukari targeted Kanji with Isis and wind. Akihiko sought out Yosuke, dodging fire thrown out by one of the statues and summoning Caesar to produce Ziodyne.

That left Naoto and Yu for Shinjiro and Ken. A shot was fired and Kala-Nemi spun into existence, lightning crackling down upon Naoto. She grimaced, but summoned Yamato Sumeragi. The Mudo caught Ken, but a combination of the ring of darkness and the homunculus he threw out to intercept it kept him standing long enough to duck down at swipe at Naoto's feet. She dodged the attack, but it set her stumbling into the golden fist Shinjiro and Castor had called against her.

And amidst all of this, Aigis struggled to her feet and aimed straight for Yu Narukami.

It wasn't a fair fight, or even close. SEES had far too much knowledge of the Investigation Team's powers, and for the most part had taken the precaution to cover their own elemental weaknesses before they entered the TV that morning. Yu had his hands full keeping the shadow at bay, but he was aware of his friends falling one by one behind him. Rise, still some distance back, was shouting. Kouzeon was gone, and she was desperately (foolishly) trying to pull Mitsuru Kirijo back and away from Yukiko. The woman simply shook her away as though she was nothing more than an irritation.

When he saw Aigis gunning straight for him, rage in her eyes, he summoned his strongest persona. "Izanagi no Okami!" he shouted as the card shattered. Izanagi roared and spun his might sword and golden almightly light flooded the hall. The statues cracked and broke, the shadow suspended from the ceiling falling. The members of SEES fell back, blinded by the light.

Except for one, of course. Aigis locked herself into position and shouted her last hope. "Orgia Mode Engaged! Athena!" The persona lunged at him and struck him twice, huge blows that sent him reeling far more than he had expected. Yu was blasted off his feet.

"Senpai!"

He turned just in time to see Rise stumbled back as the massive shadow turned it's attention towards her, pushing itself away from the ground and raising a massive black hand towards her even as it returned to the ceiling. He didn't understand why SEES were protecting this shadow, but he understood that they were hurting his friends and he understood that Rise was in danger.

"Megadolaon!" he yelled, and again blinding light filled the room. The shadow roared in agony, knocked from it's perch and now writhing and twisting on the ground. Aigis seemed to be saying something, and the entirety of SEES had turned towards him with horrified expressions.

"Again!" he shouted, and this did it. SEES dived for cover, but the shadow shrieked in agony one last time, exploding into black mist.

"No!" Mitsuru screamed, stumbling to her knees, her sword falling from her grip. "What did you do?" she turned to look at Yu, and he was surprised to see that she was on the verge of tears. Before he could react, Aigis barrelled into him.

Before that day he'd never before considered how much a robot ramming him into a solid stone wall would hurt. A lot, it transpired. Aigis held him in place by the collar, her eyes dark and roiling with anger. She was crying too, he realised. Could robots cry?

"We… came here… straight from the other side," he gasped. "The shadow attacked."

"That was the last of the arcana shadows!" Yukari shouted at him. "The last herald of the fall. You've doomed everyone!"


	11. Chapter 11

**So at least one persona predicted that this chapter would be the shadow-Minako fight. Bingo! Hope you enjoy, and thanks everyone again for your kind words. Sorry to have kept you waiting on the reunion so long. :p  
**

* * *

"No, he hasn't," a soft voice said from behind them. Aigis actually dropped Yu in shock and everyone spun to face the short young man in the yellow scarf.

"These weren't truly the arcana shadows," Ryoji explained, "Just as I am not truly the Nyx avatar. I am close enough to what I was then to understand, however."

"What do you mean?" Akihiko asked.

"This," he gestured at the building, "And the shadow arcana were all created from her mind, from the part of herself she refuses to accept. She is waiting for you on the roof."

"You're not gonna transform and attack us are you?" Junpei asked dubiously. Ryoji smiled.

"This is how she chooses to remember me," he replied, gesturing at his body. "The year she spent in Iwatodai was the best of her life, and she will remember that eventually."

"What is the point to all this?" Mitsuru asked. "Why is she back? Why is she here?"

"She does not know, and so neither do I. That is something you will have to figure out between yourselves. Goodbye and…" he hesitated and smiled, "Thank you, for helping her prevent the fall."

Ryoji turned and walked straight through the wall, out of sight. One by one, the members of the Investigation team were coming to, casting dark looks at their opponents. "I apologise for the violence," Mitsuru replied in a tone that suggested otherwise. "We believed that the destruction of that shadow would herald the return of Nyx."

"I guess we can understand the reaction then," Naoto coughed.

"Sorry about that," Shinjiro said. She nodded her appreciation at his words and after a moment the various members of SEES muttered similar apologies.

"Yu," Chie said, rubbing her shoulder. "When we get back, I wanna look at their abilities. Next time it's gonna be a fair fight." Mitsuru actually smirked at that comment. "I look forward to it," she said brusquely. "Yamagishi, how many floors to the top?"

"_Three to go_."

"We still have to talk about what you did," Mitsuru said evenly, "But after what happened here," she gestured at the room, "I suppose we can call ourselves even. Let's go."

"Can we wait for Aigis to recover?" Yukari asked, hurrying over to her stationary friend. "Orgia mode takes it out of her, remember."

"Very well, but we cannot wait too long."

* * *

Shadow Minako was waiting for them on the top floor. "You came!" she exclaimed. "I knew you would!"

"There!" Rise exclaimed, pointing at the ground beyond the shadow where Minako, the real Minako this time, lay huddled against the wind.

Various members of SEES shouted her name, and they all tried to run to her. Shadow Minako raised a hand and they stopped. "Look at them," the shadow crowed. "Look how much they need me!"

"Stop it," Minako gasped, her voice cracked. "Stop saying that. They don't need me. They _can't_."

"But I don't want to go back!" the shadow shouted. "I want to stay here forever, and now I have to – because they _need_ me."

"No!" Minako shouted, raising her tear stained face. "I can't stay! I have to go back!"

"Accept what you want," the shadow laughed, "Only then can you truly live!"

"I don't want that! That's nothing like what I want!"

"Liar! I am you!"

"Oh boy…" Kanji muttered.

"Here we go," Yosuke grumbled.

"You're not me!" Minako screamed. The shadow laughed, throwing her head back as black fog began to seep towards her.

"Minako!" Akihiko tore forwards, diving past the shadow to catch Minako as she fell backwards. The shadow kept on laughing and began to swell in size. The laughter continued, the voice deepening until it solidified. It was the Nyx avatar in form, only what had been blue was now red and though a mask still covered the face, it was Minako's hair that escaped from beneath the black crown.

"Minako," Akihiko whispered, shaking her gently, unable to believe that he was holding her in his arms again. She was cold as ice.

* * *

She descended into darkness. Panicking she reached out for something (anything) to grab hold of, desperate to find purchase amidst the uncertainty. Blue light shone down upon her and instinctively she shouted a name. "Theodore! Theodore! Help me!" A gloved hand seized her arm and pulled her from that place, into a plush blue car. She collapsed back onto one of the seats, panting and desperate for air. "What was that?"

"That was close to a return, Mistress Minako," Theodore panted.

"A return?" she asked. "To the seal?"

"Indeed. I was very nearly too late to save you."

"Save me?" she exclaimed, attempting to stand and accomplishing only a knock to the head in the enclosed surroundings of the car. "I need to go back to the seal now!" she exclaimed, "My shadow it's…"

"It will only continue to run rampant if you return to the seal, and your presence in that place would do you little good."

"But…" Theodore held up a hand to halt her words and it suddenly occurred to Minako how tired he looked. His uniform was not as crisp as usual, his hair was in disarray and his eyes… his eyes screamed at her.

"Mistress Minako," he said softly, shaking his head. "You changed me in a way I never could have expected, showed me the human world and taught me of your people. Of humanity. I wish simply to repay that favour. I took them from you because I did not wish you to remember, but I can see now that this has caused more harm than good. Please, forgive me for this."

She flinched back as he lift his hand to her face, but all he did was press the palm against her cheek. His hand was cold. She closed her eyes and remembered.

* * *

"Spread out!" Yu shouted. "Make sure you've got a good aim and that no one's in your way. Naoto, Chie, Yosuke fall back!"

"Takeba, Iori, you fall back with the others! Aigis, you too!" This left a depleted attack force, but gave them far more room to manoeuvre.

"Takeji Zaiten!" Kanji shouted, sending lightning crashing down from the sky. The others unleashed elemental and physical attacks on the shadow, but it only laughed.

"Forneus! Decarabia!" the avatar shouted. _Two_ personas appeared at her call, and those facing her felt their strength seep out of them.

"Keep fighting!" Yu shouted, summoning Loki and sending ice lancing towards the shadow.

"Valhalla!" she shouted, and golden circles formed in the air above their heads. Thor and Valkyrie charged forward and thunder reigned down upon them. Akihiko held Minako tight, shielding her as best he could. He realised she still wore the omnipotent orb on a cord around her neck, and hoped it would still have an effect when she was unconscious – they made no pretence to understand how that thing worked.

"Scarlet Havoc!" His blood ran cold at those words and he scooped Minako into his arms and leapt to the side to dodge the massive saws as they roared past once and then again. He could hear the firing of evokers and the smashing of breaking glass, but his attention was almost entirely upon the fragile body he held tight against his chest.

"Incubus! Succubus!" Pink arrows rained down from the sky, and Akihiko saw one hit Mitsuru and another Kanji.

"Amagi! Narukami!" he shouted, but they too had been hit. "Takeba," he yelled, knowing she wouldn't hear him from where she was crouched out of the way of the battle. Mitsuru leapt towards Shinjiro, her blade slashing towards him. He parried just barely, sparks rising as the Snow Queen Whip skidded down Mjolnir's handle. Cursing, Akihiko fumbled in his breast pocket, still clutching Minako close with one arm, hoping for a Me Patra gem. Instead he found a small blue bottle.

_That'll do_, he thought as he threw it down at Yukiko's feet even as she threw her fan towards Ken. The dis-charm smoked up and she breathed it in, the pink gleam vanishing from her eyes. She looked quickly around and took in the field of battle before summoning her persona. Sume-Omikami danced forth and Salvation wiped the charm from the others instantly. Next she darted towards Shinjiro, retrieving the pink Narcissus flower from his hat.

"Mahakala!" Yu called forth the persona instantly and used fire against the avatar, but still it kept on coming.

"Armageddon!" she crowed.

"No!" Rise's voice thundered across the roof and even as the attack crashed down upon them, pink shields sprang into existence in front of them all. Rise took and absorbed the entire attack and Kouzeon fizzled away, leaving her staggering back.

An evoker fired behind her and white light flickered across her skin. She flashed Yukari a grateful smile and summoned Kouzeon again. _"It's weakening_," she said, _"But I won't be able to shield against that one again for a while."_

"_Keep fighting, but be careful – don't use up all of your spirit, we don't know how many forms it may have."_ Fuuka's voice joined Rise's, and they began to work together, scanning in unison. The combined powers of their personae were far greater than they had been alone; much like the fusion spells the shadow was throwing at them.

"_Fight together!" _Fuuka shouted in realisation. _"Fusion spells!"_

"Chie!" Yukiko called.

"I'm on it!" she yelled, running forwards and out from the shelter of the doorway. Together they summoned their personae and shouted "Twin dragons!" Two enormous golden dragons shot forth, circling the avatar and attacking. It cried out, the first obvious sign of weakness it had made.

"Let's do this Naoto!" Kanji shouted.

"Very well." They ran together and called their personae. Huge, spindly bone protrusions grew up from the edge of the tower and a giant skull reared up behind the avatar, biting down upon it.

"No!" It screamed. "I won't let go of you, I know how much you need me! Raktapaksha!" Garuda and Gurr attacked, and those fighting were knocked off their feet. Without any prompting, those remaining out of the way leapt forwards to pick up the fight.

"Trismegistus!" Junpei roared, his persona lancing towards the shadow. Aigis dashed to the side, gun chattering as bullets spat towards the avatar at a frightening rate. The thing only laughed, as though they didn't hurt at all.

"Dragon hustle!" Chie bellowed, the first back on her feet, and all of them felt themselves strengthen.

Yu was the next to push himself up. He'd dropped his sword, but raised a hand to crush the card, crying out, "Izanagi no Okami!" Almighty light blasted the shadow, knocking it from its feet. "Now!" Yukari shouted as everyone pushed themselves back up. Those who'd dropped their weapons reached for them, and they charged in a mad scramble, slicing, shooting and striking. Rise gave them all she could, but when the dust settled the shadow was only weakened.

It laughed and turned from the fight, looking straight at Akihiko, still clutching Minako against his chest. Behind the mask, it's eyes narrowed and it slowly raised a hand.

* * *

First there was the pain. Green light filled her vision and the only sensation was the pain that wrapped her arms and legs, the needles against her skin. The force behind her was not simply malice, but all negative feelings wrapped together; a beast of human imagination, far greater and more terrible than anything she had encountered whilst she still lived.

Minako wanted to scream, yet her form was fixed and solid. She wanted to cry out, to plead for help or mercy, but she was the only barrier between humanity and it's own destruction so there would be no mercy, no relief, no respite. Not ever.

That was the deal, after all. The consequence of her actions. She'd signed the contract. She'd put her name right there on the dotted line but not for a moment had she foreseen this, for who could have predicted the impossible. The human soul was not designed for this punishment, and desperately it sought distraction. It sought those it knew and it sought those who fought against despair, but distraction could never hope to be enough and in the end the pain always won, always triumphed, always beat her down until she could see nothing but the strange green light.

There was a voice, sometimes. It was familiar, and it apologised to her. It cried, sobbed and wailed at her. It wanted her to leave, and she wanted to go as well. She wished to be in any other place because she was so tired. She only ever heard Ryoji on the worst days, when the beast was at it's strongest, raging and crying and howling against her back as it gnashed it's hundreds of jaws, raked thousands of claws against her back.

The memories burned at her, the pain a hundred times worse for having been forgotten and the desperation a thousand times worse for the freedom she had tasted. She screamed, for finally she had a mouth to articulate the twisted mess that the seal had created in place of what had once been Minako Arisato. Then she opened her eyes, she saw Theodore looking at her with deep sorrow and the knowledge that what he had returned to her was unforgivable. She blinked again, and Akihiko was looking down upon her. To her own surprise, she did not cry.

"Narukami!" Mitsuru shouted even as the avatar began to raise her other harm, Armageddon building in the air. She raised her evoker and he smashed a card, shouting out "Loki!" as Mitsuru called, "Artemisia!"

The two personae rose together, and as Artemesia snapped her chain Loki gestured forwards. A great blizzard swept the tower and within it stood a figure of blinding white. It raised a massive fist and pounded it down upon the avatar as in unison Mitsuru and Yu shouted, "Glacius Maw!"

The snow cleared slowly, and as it did so the shadow began to shrink. Dark smoke leaked away from the battered form, leaving only the shadow behind. "Be careful," Mitsuru said slowly, "It may have multiple forms."

"The fool," Minako said quietly, her hand against Akihiko's chest. "My arcana is the fool. There's only one form." She tried to stand, but Akihiko held her back, his eyes full of worry. "Let me finish this," she whispered. He hesitated, but nodded. She leaned on him as they made their slow way towards the shadow.

"I kept telling myself I was strong enough to go back there," she whispered as the shadow sat up and looked pleadingly at her. "But I'm not." Her voice cracked, her eyes watered. "I can't do it. Maybe I'll have to one day… but I'll fight until then." She sobbed only once, her breath catching in her throat. She pushed herself upright and limped forwards to the shadow, kneeling before her. "I'm sorry. _I_ need you, and that should be enough." The shadow smiled and faded away into smoke.

From the centre of the smoke rose a small glowing point of light, and it blossomed before them into a familiar persona: red and white, a lyre at her back. Orpheus Telos hovered above them for a moment and then vanished into a small blue card that fell until it floated before Minako's face and vanished.

She fell backwards and Akihiko caught her. "She's bleeding!" he exclaimed. Blood was seeping through her armour across her back, down her sleeves and legs.

"Diarahan!" Yukari ordered, Isis blooming above her head, and the blood seemed to stop spreading.

"Yamagishi, get us down there, now!" Mitsuru instructed. She could only hope that defeating the mock-avatar would prevent them scattering on the way down. After a moment, the people around them began to shimmer away, and Akihiko felt a tingle across his skin a moment before he blinked and found himself on the first floor.

"Sensei!" a voice wailed. "You came here without telling me! What if you'd got into trouble and Teddie wasn't there to help you! I was so beary worried!"

"We're sorry Teddie, we didn't expect to come out where we did," Yu said.

"Yeah, but _someone_ kept us out of the usual entrance." Yosuke shot a glare at Mitsuru, who ignored it.

"Teddie," she said, the word an order. "Can you get us to an exit that will lead us straight to the Amagi Inn."

"I don't know," Teddie said thoughtfully. "I've never tried that bearfore."

"We could always leave where Mayumi Yamano came in," Yukiko suggested, her voice subdued. "She entered from the Inn, after all."

"That seems to be the best solution. Teddie, lead the way." They walked as a group, Akihiko carrying Minako. Eventually they came to the ruins of a small room. It was overgrown in places, plants creeping through the floorboards. On the walls, just barely visible, were torn up posters and scribbled words. "Here we are," Teddie announced. "And here's an exit."

One by one, they left the shadow realm, emerging into what had been Mayumi Yamano's room at the Amagi Inn, but which had recently been booked by one Mitsuru Kirijo for the duration of her stay in Inaba.

"Akihiko, lay her down on the futon," she gestured to her own mattress, and Akihiko complied, setting Minkao down gently on her front, just in case whatever wound there was on her back hadn't quite healed yet. Everyone stared at her for a moment.

"Is it really her?" Junpei asked finally.

"She looks older," Ken observed. "I dunno why, but I kind of expected her to look exactly the same."

"We should go…" Chie said uncomfortably, shifting from foot to foot. If nothing else, the room was way overcrowded.

"Yeah. We'll be…" Rise gestured something that might have meant around and began to head for the door.

"Wait," Mitsuru said, tearing her eyes away from the sleeping Minako. "Kujikawa… you should stay." Rise was obviously surprised, but she did as Mitsuru said and stayed behind as the rest of the Investigation Team filed out of the room.

"Kujikawa…" Mitsuru began before closing her eyes for a moment and starting again. "Rise." Junpei, who'd poured himself a drink from a jug on the table, choked and spluttered. He'd barely been aware that Mitsuru was capable of using first names.

"Can you tell us_ why_ Minako didn't want us to know she was back?"

Rise nodded unhappily. "It was because she was scared," she said. "She didn't want you all to know she was here because she was convinced she'd have to leave again."

"Why would she do that?" Akihiko demanded. "Is this what she wanted help for?"

"She wanted help to return to the Great Seal," a new voice answered. "The gate that prevents Nyx from re-entering this world." Heads turned and a woman in blue stepped towards them from the edge of the room.

"Margaret!" Rise exclaimed, jumping. She glanced at the others and began, "This is…"

"We've met," Mitsuru interrupted. "She tested us in the month leading up to the fight with Nyx. We defeated her."

"Miss Arisato defeated me," Margaret said lightly, "You helped."

"Quite," Mitsuru agreed. "Now, explain this seal."

"Very well. The Great Seal is a power created from the life essence of a human being," she said. "It is the force that prevents the thoughts and desires of mankind calling upon the destructive power you call Nyx. For a human, giving up their life essence means death. I believe that at that moment, she truly had no regrets."

"Minako?" Junpei whispered. "It's really her? She's back?"

"For now," Margaret said calmly. "The Great Seal will hold without her for a short time, but not forever. Theodore, although he likes to believe himself powerful enough, cannot hold the seal indefinitely."

"So she's back, but not permanently?" Mitsuru asked, frowning.

"That is correct."

"Let's say I believe you. How long does do we have to find some other way to keep the seal in place?"

"I cannot say," Margaret replied. "But I would be mindful of the full moon. Nyx is at her strongest then."

"What about..."

"I'm sorry," Margaret replied. "The time I can spend in this world is limited, and I must return."

"How can we find you?"

"You will have to search. The Velvet Room is closed." And she was gone as simply as that.

"How long is it until the next full moon?" Yukari asked uneasily in the silence that followed her departure.

"Seventeen days," Aigis replied instantly. It took a moment for that to sink in; they didn't have long.

"Should I wake her?" Ken asked, hand stirring beside his evoker, ready to cast samarecarm if it was needed.

"No," Mitsuru answered eventually. "Let her sleep. We all should sleep; it's been a long day. I'll call if she wakes."

"I shall watch over her," Aigis said, "I do not yet require charging."

"Don't be silly Aigis," Fuuka admonished her gently. "You took a lot of damage today, let me make sure you're working properly inside and then rest."

"I'll watch," Yukari said quietly, her eyes on Minako's peaceful expression.

"Thank you Takeba. It might be best if the rest of us tried to sleep." Mitsuru's expression told them that she, like the rest of them, knew that wasn't going to happen.

As the others shuffled away, Aigis looked down at her dearest friend sleeping soundly before her. Every part of her felt the confusion as it ran through the circuits of her mind and out into the rest of her body. Aigis had accepted Minako's sacrifice long before the others. She had grieved for her friend, but allowed Minako the decision she had made with no apportioning of blame.

Yet here she was. Aigis thought back to her words upon the peak of Tartarus. "I kept telling myself I was strong enough to go back there, but I'm not. I can't do it." Had Margaret spoken truthfully? Would Minako have to return to this seal? Aigis stared down at her friend, and softly shed her tears.

* * *

******LOOK! SEE! I PROMISED IT WOULD HAPPEN!** Yeah, the next chapter has no action. It's almost entirely dedicated to the part of the reunion in which Minako is actually concious. It'll be up as soon as the fine tuning is done, so probably a couple of days. :D 


	12. Chapter 12

**LOOK! SEE! REUNION! :D Enjoy!**

* * *

Junpei sipped at his drink, staring down at the table and trying to figure out what the hell was even going on. He felt like his entire world had been turned upside down. _Again_. That made it four times now. First, he'd seen the dark hour, and then Chidori had died, then Minako and now this… He sighed and sipped at the soda, leaning back against the wall. It was late and the dining room was empty, the other guests long since asleep.

He was surprised, therefore, when the door slid open and Yosuke stepped into the room. "Yo," Junpei said hollowly. "How come you're still here?"

"Yukiko said we could stay the night," he replied. "We're in small rooms, but I'm pretty sure we'd all rather be here." Junpei nodded and took another gulp of soda. "I'm sorry," Yosuke said after a moment. "I should have told you."

"Yeah, you should've."

"She's messed up man. She needs you – all of you."

"We're gonna make sure she doesn't have to go back, don't worry," Junpei replied darkly.

"And we'll help," Yosuke said firmly. "Least we can do, all things considered. Except next time we fight, the Investigation Team is gonna whoop your asses."

"Oh yeah?" Junpei laughed, "You guys went down like skittles."

"You guys had an unfair advantage," Yosuke protested. "Never would have happened if you didn't know our weaknesses."

"Serves you guys right for handing 'em out so easily I guess."

"Won't make that mistake again then. Next time, Iori, you're mine."

* * *

Akihiko was running again, but rather than stray from the Inn he was simply doing laps around the building. He wasn't too surprised, then, to see Shinji waiting for him when he rounded the corner to the entrance. He slowed, panting, to a stop, and waited.

"So?" he asked eventually.

"What're you gonna do when she wakes up?" Shinjiro asked. Akihiko shrugged.

"Dunno. Guess I'll find out when she does." Shinji grunted a laugh.

"You've built that act right back up again. Tch, thought you'd learned something for a moment back there. It's just like when…" he shook his head.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked hotly.

"Doesn't matter," Shinji replied, turning to head back inside.

* * *

Minako woke slowly, blinking herself awake. She glanced to one side and saw Yukari, head leaning back against the wall. She looked as though she had been watching over her as she slept, but had succumbed to her own need to rest. Minako pushed herself up into a sitting position. She still wore the armour of light and she was stiff and sore for having slept in it. Slowly, and quietly so as not to wake Yukari, she began to loosen the straps of the armour.

Clearly she was not quiet enough. Not long after she'd started, Yukari stirred and her eyes snapped open. "Let me help," she offered, shifting and slowly raising her hands to help. Minako let her left hand drop as Yukari took over undoing the straps that wrapped the armour around her right arm.

She worked in silence, undoing the straps on right arm and then her left, at her sides and behind her neck. The plates fell away and Minako removed the plain, long sleeved shirt she'd worn underneath. It was only when she heard Yukari's soft gasp that she remembered the scars that marked her arms and shoulders.

"What are they?" Yukari asked, reaching a shaking hand forward to trace the marks down her forearm.

"They're from the seal," Minako replied. "Those marks are where I was bound to it." They looked fresh, recently scabbed over and far different from the old scars they had been previously.

"What was it that held you there?"

"Barbed wire, I think."

"Barbed wire?!" Yukari gasped, her voice as muted as she could make it and Minako cursed her carelessness. Yukari hadn't needed to know that. "I…" Yukari blinked away tears. "You're not going again, are you?" she hiccupped. "I thought I'd moved on, but now you're here and the last thing I want is for you to go again." Minako waited silently. "It was Aigis who helped me grieve," she said at last.

"I know. I was watching."

"You were?"

"On and off, when I could. I watched Rise and everyone here too. You kept me sane." She didn't smile.

"Could you do anything from… from the seal?"

"I couldn't interact, if that's what you mean," Minako said truthfully, but she didn't elaborate any further. Yukari fetched one of her shirts and some jeans for Minako to wear and helped her remove her greaves. Minako then showered and emerged fully dressed.

"I should go get the others," Yukari said, rising to her feet as Minako brushed her wet hair back with her fingers.

"No, I'd rather go find them," Minako replied, tugging the cuffs of the white shirt down to make sure they hid all the marks on her arms. "I don't want to speak to everyone all at once. It'd be… I'd rather speak to them separately."

"Ok then, if you're sure." Minako nodded and moved to open the door, but she'd barely taken two steps when it shot violently open and Fuuka's arms were around her neck. Startled, Minako nonetheless returned the gesture, holding the shorter girl tightly. The arms of her friend brought reality crashing back to her in a way nothing else quite had: she was really here, really alive. The possibility of a return to the seal still hung above her, however, darker than any shadow.

She allowed herself to cry, and within moments Yukari's arms were around her as well. The three of them sank to the floor and Minako simply wept and allowed herself to be held by her friends.

* * *

She didn't move on for another quarter of an hour, but by then Fuuka had told her where she could find the others, and she began one by one to seek them out. First she headed to the ornamental gardens. Aigis didn't move as Minako approached, but when she rested her hand on Aigis' shoulder, the android's fingers rose to touch hers.

"You are scared," Aigis said softly, "That you will have to return."

"Yes," Minako replied truthfully. "Yukari and Fuuka told me about what Margaret said."

"We will make sure you can stay!" Aigis said confidently.

"I hope so." She didn't believe it.

Aigis rose and turned to face Minako, a gentle smile playing on her lips. "You are here, with your friends. Together, we can do anything."

* * *

Ken had been walking Koromaru through the grounds of the Inn. Koromaru skipped over to Minako as she approached, rubbing against her ankles and barking loudly. "I missed you too, Koro-chan," she said, bending down to pet him gently. That strange intuition of his was clearly at work, because looking at her he settled down, his ears back and his eyes wide.

"He's been living with Shinjiro-senpai," Ken said, "But only while Fuuka's away. Anyone can tell he likes her better."

"You got tall," she said, straightening. "You used to be way shorter than me."

"Yeah well. Growth spurt."

"Your voice is lower as well." A pang of sadness filled her. She'd missed so much over the past two years even as she did her best to watch them.

"I've gotten stronger too," he said.

"You were already plenty strong for me," she said, hugging him briefly.

"We'll protect you," he promised her returning the gesture. "No matter what happens, you won't have to go back. I swear it."

* * *

Yosuke heard the footsteps before Junpei did. As the door opened and he saw who was there, he stood up and made himself scarce. Minako smiled shakily at Junpei as he too rose to his feet, but he knew her well enough even after two years to see the pain in that expression. "Hey, Jun," she said.

"Yo, Minako-chin. How've ya been?"

"You know, dead," she tried to make light, but her voice broke slightly as she spoke. "You?"

"The usual."

"Badass and awesome in equal measure?" she asked, her lip quirking up slightly.

"Damn straight."

"I missed you."

"Yeah, I missed you too Minako-chin." It seemed that Minako was going from friend to friend, each one of them accepting her and holding her. As Junpei held her, she relaxed. "Thanks," she said quietly, "For everything."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I can see it too, you know," she went on. "Chidori saw it, and that's why she loved you. You're a good man Junpei, never let yourself believe any less. Promise?"

"Yeah, I guess," he laughed.

"Glad to hear it." She waited, but Junpei didn't speak. "Aren't you going to promise me I won't have to go back? It's all the rage these days."

"I'm not gonna make a promise I don't know I can keep," he said heavily. "But I'll promise I'll do my best to keep you here. You're too stubborn for more than that."

"Yeah, I suppose that's true."

* * *

"Rise?" she asked hesitantly, standing outside the door to the room her friend had booked for her. "Are you decent?" There was a muffled squeak and after a brief pause Rise came out of the room in one of the robes the Inn provided, sliding the door shut behind her.

"I'm sorry," she said instantly. "I told them you were back, but I had too and…"

"It's ok. It wasn't fair of me to ask you to lie to them anyway. Thank you, Rise."

"I'm still working on a way to keep you here," Rise said vehemently. "No matter what happens that's not going to change."

"I wouldn't expect it to," she replied.

* * *

Mitsuru saw Minako approach from down the hallway. Her face was apprehensive and she did not rise from the small settee on which she had been trying (and failing) to read the paper.

Minako knelt down before her and took her hands. "Mitsuru-senpai, I'd have fought them whether you asked me to or not. You know that right?"

"You always were stubborn," Mitsuru replied unsteadily. They embraced, and though Minako felt Mitsuru's shoulders tremble, she did not mention it. There was so much unsaid, between all of them, but now all Minako wanted to do was stay and be held by the people she cared about most in the world.

"We will find a way," Mitsuru said passionately, squeezing Minako a little tighter. "We'll make sure you can stay."

"If you find it, I will take it in an instant," Minako responded gently. _But I know you won't. _The seal was strong, and she was a part of it. She would fight tooth and nail to stay, but she knew in the end… there was only despair.

* * *

"What do you think will happen now?" Chie asked.

"I guess we'll have to wait and see. Somehow, I don't think this is over quite yet," Naoto replied, taking a sip of her drink.

"God can't we just have one week without shadows showing up and getting in the way?" Kanji asked moodily.

"It does rather seem as though we destined to encounter them wherever we go," Naoto observed.

"Perhaps everyone does," Chie said with a shrug, "We just notice it because we have personas."

"That's… that's an interesting idea," Yukiko said thoughtfully. "Or there may be other persona groups out there. Maybe tens or hundreds of them."

"We should form a secret society of persona users!" Yosuke suggested with a laugh.

"I'm pretty sure Kirijo-san is already onto that one," Chie pointed out. Yosuke pouted, but it was in good humour.

"Any word from Teddie on what's happening on the other side?" Kanji asked.

"He said the sky is still green," Yosuke answered, "And the tower is still there. It hasn't changed back at all."

Most of the shadow dungeons were destroyed when they defeated Ameno-Sagiri and Izanami, leaving only ruins such as those of Mayumi Yamano's room. "I suppose it means that whatever that tower _really_ is," Naoto said slowly, "We're not quite done with it yet."

* * *

"Long time no see," she said. "You're looking better. Much more mobile than last time I saw you."

"You've been back five minutes and you're already making fun of me?" Shinjiro huffed a laugh. "If there was ever any doubt you were really back, that dispelled it."

"My cunning plan is to make fun of you until you agree to cook me dinner." Although she smiled, her eyes remained as flat as they had since the memories returned, emotionless.

"Tch, you're gonna have to try way harder than that. Aki's in there," he jerked his head towards the room he'd just left. "He's waiting for you. Junpei told him you were awake."

"Thanks." She took a deep breath and moved forward, slowly opening the door.

His hands were balled into fists and his face was tense, eyes fearful. What did he think she was going to do? Minako wondered. Doing her best to smile at him, she moved forward

"Akihiko-senpai," she said, trying to find the words she needed to express everything that had been between them.

"I'm sorry," she began, even as he said exactly the same thing. She replied first, however.

"Don't you dare," she said angrily, true emotion flashing in her eyes at last. "Don't you dare apologise for not being there."

"But I…"

"It was my choice Aki," she said as firmly as she could manage, her voice barely trembling. "I didn't want you to protect me – it was my turn to protect you, and that's what I did. I may have learnt a lot about myself in the other world, but one thing that's still true is that I don't regret what I did at the top of that tower. I _refuse_ to regret it. I am sorry I didn't come to you when I returned though. I should have done."

"If I'd been stronger…"

"It wasn't about strength," she said, speaking quietly but interrupting him all the same. "Or at least, it wasn't about my strength. Do you know _why_ I was able to stand against Nyx? Because you believed in me. Because _all of you_ believed I could do it. No matter how it seemed, or what it looked like, I wasn't alone up there for a second. You were all right there with me, in here." She took his hand in hers and placed it against her chest just above her breast. He felt her heart beating slow and sure within her chest, and he closed his eyes.

"That woman… Margaret, she said you might not be back for good."

Yukari had told her about Margaret's brief visit, and those words of confirmation had been a dagger to her heart. She had resolved never to tell her friends the truth about the seal. Let them believe the softer version that the Investigation Team would tell them. "But I'm here for a couple of weeks at least. Let's just take those one day at a time, and see what happens. Promise?"

"I promise."

* * *

**So as I said, this is as far as I had when I started this story. I have started the next section (and have a general idea of where it's headed), but updates will be slower from here on out. I will try my best to keep this updated once a week, probably on a weekend, so badger me if a couple pass and I don't post an update! (Also, to avoid any confusion, yes my pen-name did change. This was my original pen-name, Penthesilia-Artemisia was an interim thing).  
**


	13. Chapter 13

When his arms wrapped around her shoulders, Minako's heart skipped a beat. For a moment she felt infinitesimally small, and she leant against the muscle of his chest. Her hand sought the beat of his heart and it's slow rhythm was as familiar as her own. She took a deep, shuddering breath but refused to cry. Not this time.

His hand was in her hair, wrapped in it as he gently stroked the back of her head. The silence was that of two people who didn't always need words to communicate to each other – at that moment, all they needed was the reassurance that they were real and the knowledge that they were together.

That didn't mean they were done talking, nor did it mean that the air was clear between them, but for now it was enough.

Naturally, this meant it could not last. There was a crash from outside the window, followed by a roar and a load whinny.

"Shadow!" Akihiko exclaimed. "Again?!" This was the second shadow to attack the Amagi Inn.

"Let's go," Minako said, turning and dashing into the hall. People were peering from their rooms, terrified faces visible only through the slits in the door. Minako ignored them, dashing towards the nearest exit.

When she saw the shadow, her heart faltered for a second – what if she couldn't do it again? What if they refused to listen? _No_, she told herself forcefully. _I can do this_. She reached to her thigh only to find nothing there. "My evoker!" she exclaimed.

"Mitsuru has it," Akihiko cursed. "Take mine; you'll be more effective alone than I will."

He proffered the evoker handle first towards her and she hesitated a moment. "Take it," he urged her, glancing back at the shadow, "Before it hurts someone!"

That did it. She snatched it from his hands and without even pausing to think she raised it to her head. "Helel!" she screamed, summoning the persona that seemed most fitting. The ultimate form of the star arcana.

There was a single gunshot. A tinkle of breaking glass. An angel with six wings. A column of light so bright that it blinded all and any who looked upon it. The light crashed down into the shadow, a large Knight in purple and silver, and it cried out in rage and pain.

"Odin!" Again, the sound of breaking glass, only this time thunder crashed from within the shadow itself as the norse god raised his spear, leaving it stunned and barely able to move.

"Norn!" Wind swept at the knight, blasting it high into the air. As the force collided, Minako knew she had found the creatures weakness and when it crashed into the ground the silver metal of its armour collapsed in upon itself and faded away into nothingness.

"Man that was _awesome_!" a voice said from behind her. She turned and saw Yosuke leaping down the steps two at a time. "I mean, I still think the whole shooting yourself in the head thing winds awards for being _fucking insane_, but… that was awesome."

"Umm… thanks?" Minako said at last, handing the evoker back to Akihiko. "That makes three, right?"

"Yeah," he replied, strapping it back in place. "Two here and one on the main street."

The sound of running feet heralded the arrival of Fuuka, Yukari and Mitsuru. The others arrived soon after and it wasn't long before Yukiko was ushering both groups away from the area of the attack and, once again, into a conference room. Most of them were wrapped in the thick robes the Inn provided for guests (or her pyjamas, in Yukiko's case), although a handful were still dressed.

"We need to figure out why these shadows are coming," Mitsuru said decisively, "We cannot hope our involvement will remain unnoticed for much longer."

"There was a few days between this one and the others," Kanji pointed out. "The other two were on the same night. Maybe that'll help?"

"We need to work out what the common factors are," Naoto said thoughtfully. "What was there on every occasion a shadow attacked? Or who."

"I was," Akihiko said.

"No, we arrived on scene for the first one," Mitsuru reminded him. "It was already attacking the Inn when we got here."

"It's me," Minako answered quietly. "I was at the Inn when the first one attacked, and I had… I was in town for the second. There wasn't one after that because I entered the other world the next morning. And now I only just got back and…" No one spoke. No one spoke because everyone knew she was right, and nobody wanted to be the one to admit that.

"We need to find out exactly why they are coming," Mitsuru said finally. "Has there been an update on the state of the other world?"

"Nothing's changed," Yosuke answered. "Teddie says the sky's still green and the tower's still there."

"Which means there's probably more to investigate," Naoto finished for him.

"Was Monad there?" Minako asked after a moment. "I can't remember."

"There was only the stairs," Fuuka said, "And I never sensed the reaper."

"Teddie said there was a new door in the lobby, if that's what you're after? And you guys met that nutjob too?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah," Junpei said, slumping in his chair. "We had to beat the crap out of him to get into Monad as well."

"It wasn't that bad once I had Odin," Minako reminded him.

"Why do you ask about Monad?" Mitsuru asked.

"Remember we fought Theo on the top floor? He and his sisters know what's going on here, and I think that's where he'd leave answers."

"They couldn't just tell us?" Chie grumbled.

"That would be way too easy, clearly," Kanji laughed.

"Well it would seem prudent to keep a task force on this side of the screen whenever Minako is here," Mitsuru said eventually. She reached down and produced a silver briefcase, laying it on the table before her and popping the clasps.

"These arrived a couple of hours ago," she said. "Welcome to the team." She slid the box forward. Inside were evokers, each one almost identical to the ones wielded by SEES. "I will take the Strega evokers back as emergency back-ups," Mitsuru said as, one by one, the members of the investigation team took an evoker.

"What does SEES actually stand for?" Yukiko asked, cautiously examining the barrel of her own.

"The Specialised Extracurricular Execution Squad," Akihiko replied.

"And the IU?" Naoto asked. This was the only part of the evoker that differed from those the original SEES members possessed.

"Investigative Unit," Mitsuru told them. "I'm hoping that, eventually, we'll have many specialised persona units across Japan, if not globally. The more people actively fighting the shadows the better."

"Man if Dojima finds this," Yu muttered, shaking his head.

"It's a necessary risk. If he does, you will simply have to demonstrate that the gun is not real. When fired at anything other than a persona user an evoker will have no effect."

"That might not be our biggest problem if shadows keep attacking here," Yukari pointed out, "It's only a matter of time before there are news crews and cameras poking their noses in. If we're not careful, shadows and personas are going to air on every news channel in Japan, and probably everywhere else as well."

"We may have to face the possibility that this is inevitable," Mitsuru sighed heavily.

"Rise and I should be able to help some," Fuuka offered. "We can't stop cameras, but we might be able to keep people at bay at least a little."

"It'd definitely be worth a shot," Rise said thoughtfully, "Especially if we work together again."

"Yes, your teamwork was most helpful in that battle. In fact, I suggest we all form pairs and see how we can best complement each other's abilities."

"How are we gonna split?" Chie asked.

"I'd suggest a member from each team in a pair as far as that is possible."

"Why not do it by arcana then? At least as far as possible, anyway. That'll pair people with similar temperaments."

"A sound plan. How would that work out?" Mitsuru asked.

"Well I'd work with Minako, obviously," Yu said thoughtfully, "Yosuke would work with Junpei," the two high fived each other, "Yukiko is priestess…" he glanced at Minako, who shook her head.

"Fuuka," she replied. "What arcana is Rise?"

"Lovers."

"Then Yukiko should work with Yukari, she's lovers as well." Everyone else was watching mystified as the two wild cards spoke.

"Akihiko is star," Minako said.

"That's Teddie." A pregnant pause. Visions of Akihiko and Teddie trying to get along.

"I always thought he should have been Emperor? His persona is, anyway," Minako said hopefully.

"Kanji."

"Good. Koromaru will work with Teddie, I think they'll get on well."

"So that leaves Naoto and Chie."

"And Aigis, Ken, Mitsuru and Shinjiro."

"Fortune and Chariot."

"Aeon, Justice, Empress and Moon. Though Shinjiro's persona is hierophant."

"What on Earth are you guys on about?" Chie asked finally.

"It's a wild card thing, I think," Yukiko answered.

"You all have arcana," Minako explained, "From the Tarot deck. Each arcana represents something different, and as wild cards, Yu and I gained powers from the bonds we formed with you and your arcana."

"Huh. That's… weird."

"Yeah, it was a little," Yu replied, laughing nervously.

"So there are two more SEES members than your team has and none of the arcana match up any more," Minako said thoughtfully.

"If I may," Ken interjected, "I think I might benefit the most training with Shinjiro-senpai." Jaws dropped.

"Umm… ok then," Minako said finally.

"I would appreciate the opportunity to work with you, Miss Kirijo, if you would permit it," Naoto requested.

"I look forward to it," Mitsuru replied.

"Which leaves Aigis and Chie?" Yu said, turning it into a question.

"Cool," Chie said, glancing at Aigis, who smiled encouragingly.

"And to avoid any distrust between our groups," Mitsuru said, "I have printed and prepared these." She handed out a small sheet of paper. "Pass this around. The usernames and passwords here will allow you access into the newly christened Kirijo Persona Database. It is important that we know both the abilities and weaknesses of all our allies, and the data for _both_ teams is listed in the database."

"Awesome," Chie exclaimed, reaching out for the sheet and scanning it for her username. "So how are we going to find these Velvet Room people?"

"The first step is to fight our way through Monad," Mitsuru said.

"I'll speak to Marie," Yu offered, "She may know where they are; she spent a long time in the room, after all."

"A good idea," Mitsuru agreed, nodding.

"So shall we rest up for the night?" Akihiko asked. "Looks like we're busy tomorrow."

"Indeed."

"Do we have enough beds for everyone?" Yukiko asked. "I've set up Chie on the spare futon in my parent's wing, and the others all have beds."

"Can we add a spare futon to Mitsuru's room for me?" Minako asked.

"Of course," Yukiko said, nodding.

"Then we should be fine. Rise can stay in the room she booked for me."

"Good," Mitsuru said, standing. "Let's get some rest. We need to be ready tomorrow."

* * *

**Monad should be interesting :p I'm looking forward to introducing the Investigation Team to it. The pair-dynamic should make it easier to deal with the HUGE cast as well, as at the moment when everyone's together only about five people ever seem to talk, which is silly. **

**Regarding Shinjiro and Akihiko's arcana - that is their persona arcana, which makes their social link arcana a little weird. Especially as if their original arcanas are kept, P3 has one persona user of each one of the first twelve arcanas, remove that and it's missing Emperor and Hierophant. **

**Hope you enjoyed!  
**


	14. Chapter 14

**And now for Monad. This chapter starts to deal with what is, to me, the big difference between the two groups. I kind of see SEES as the stronger, technically better fighters and the Investigation Team as more comfortable with who they are and thus with their personas - in P4G the arcs and development of the Investigation Team are fantastic. **

**Ergo, the Investigation Team need endurance training in Monad and SEES need therapy. Lots and lots of therapy. **

**Thanks for the support since last time, as always you guys rock. I know this is slightly later than I estimated, but a large part of that is the current editing and partial rewrite of Ready and Waiting, my main Sailor Moon fanfic. I did about 20 chapters in the past week. x.x Enjoy!  
**

* * *

"This place feels heavy," Chie said cautiously, taking a slow step forward.

"It's like it's pressing down on me," Yosuke agreed, shuddering.

"Welcome to Monad," Minako said grimly. "In case you were wondering why we are physically stronger and more enduring than you are, this place is why."

"It's difficult enough to move here," Akihiko explained, "Never mind fighting."

"It's like molasses," Yukiko said, "I can't even breath properly the air is so thick."

"That's why it's doubly sensible to travel in cross-team pairs," Minako said. "At least one person in every group has fought in Monad before."

"Not for ages," Junpei complained. "I could hold up out there, but in here… man am I gonna feel this tomorrow."

"Well either way, we should split off. Fuuka and Rise can pull out any team in trouble, they're working together again so they should be able to monitor all of us fairly easily. Make sure to shout if you need help or find the stairs."

"Roger!" Teddie said excitedly, bouncing slightly on the balls of his feet.

"When you're ready," Chie said to Aigis.

"Let's go," Aigis said, turning away and heading down the left hand fork. Yukiko and Yukari followed behind them for a while, but before too long they turned away to the right. Silence fell between them as Aigis led the way deeper into Monad. Chie was short of breath and sweat beaded on her brow. She understood now what Minako had said – they had fought their way to the top of this place? They had _survived_ that? The air was warm, and she felt physically drained even before Aigis held up a hand to indicate that she should stop.

"What is it?" Chie hissed.

"Shadows," Aigis replied. "Three of them are blocking the corridor straight ahead."

"Three?" Chie gulped. She was a confident enough fighter, but every muscle in her body ached already. "Can we fight them?"

"_Those ones are weak to agi spells,"_ Fuuka told them, _"Athena should be strong enough to handle them and Chie could learn a lot from even one fight here."_

"_Go for it Chie-senpai,"_ Rise encouraged her, _"Fuuka and I will pull you out if it goes south!"_

"Ok then, let's do this!" Chie exclaimed with a grin.

"Agreed!" Aigis smiled back at her and together they ran forward.

"Athena!"

"Haraedo-no-Okami!"

Comets rained upon the shadows as fire raged around them. Chie stumbled back, winded by the power the attack had drained from her. It didn't usually cost this much did it?

"_You feel injuries and spiritual drain much more intensely in Monad,"_ Fuuka explained.

"I noticed," Chie panted through gritted teeth. The shadows were on the ground and Aigis was looking in her direction.

"An all-out attack?" Aigis suggested.

"I'll do my best," Chie gasped. She ran forward as fast as she could and kicked at the nearest shadow. It was possibly the single least effective attack of her entire life.

Aigis meanwhile was strafing from side to side. Her hand was gone, replaced by a gun that fired rounds rapidly into the bodies of the shadows, never missing. One by one they vanished from sight.

"Can we get out now?" Chie gasped. "I need to sit down."

"We can stop when we are called back to the atrium," Aigis replied. "For now we must press on. You need to train here more to improve your strength."

"And we need to reach the top, I know." Chie sighed, pushing herself away from the wall. "What do you think we're going to find there anyway?"

"I don't know," Aigis said after a moment. "I hope… answers. I have been searching for my answer for some time now. I thought I had found it. Now I am not so sure."

* * *

Chie was pleased to discover that she was not the only member of the Investigation Team to have suffered in Monad. Even Yu looked exhausted, and that was unusual to say the least. SEES on the other hand, while clearly invigorated, where much more limber.

"You'd be surprised how quickly you can get used to it," Akihiko explained to Kanji, who was lying on the floor, staring up at the ceiling. "A few more trips like that and you'll be ready for the second floor."

"How many floors does this thing have?" Naoto asked.

"Ten in total," Ken replied, "But there were no shadows on the final floor when we reached the top last time."

"Only Theodore," Mitsuru said, nodding. "Has everyone taken the opportunity to heal?" The fox yipped, reminding them that he was there, and the large golden clock ticked loudly. "If so, we should head back inside."

"Again?" Yukiko asked, her face falling.

"Training in Monad works best in fits and bursts. You'll notice upon your return that you're already stronger and more prepared than you were before. Eventually you'll be as strong as we are now. There was a point at which we plateaued, and extra training in Monad did us no benefit."

"Yippee," Chie muttered.

* * *

"I think it went reasonably well, all things considered," Minako said carefully, picking at her steak.

"You didn't break your arm in six places!"

"It's fixed, isn't it?" Chie asked. "Honestly Yosuke you're such a baby. _Man_ this steak is good. I don't think I've ever been this hungry in my entire life."

"But outside of broken bones," a few grumbles around the table demonstrated that Yosuke hadn't been the only person to break something, and Yukari rubbed her wrist with a rueful grin, "I felt it was good training," Yu finished.

"Definitely," Chie said through a mouthful of steak. "I don't think I've ever felt this tired either. I'm going to sleep for about twelve hours straight now."

"We're hoping to push as far as the third floor tomorrow," Mitsuru said, "Possibly the fourth, although obviously we'll have to assess everyone's conditions and make the call then."

"How long did it take you guys last time?" Kanji asked.

"About three weeks," Minako replied, "But we could only go in for an hour a day max, which seriously slowed us down. We'll be able to go much quicker this time – there are more of us, and we're all stronger."

"And we didn't have amazing persona summoning senpai to guide us."

"Junpei, no one is ever going to call you senpai."

"Man Yuka-tan, that hurts."

* * *

There was another shadow attack that day, this time as they were leaving Junes. Thankfully it had been late and the place had been mostly deserted, but they knew that with each shadow the chance of their abilities remaining a secret became slimmer.

"We need to get to the top of Monad," Akihiko said firmly, "That's the only plan we've got."

"Have you considered it might not be good enough?" Mitsuru asked cautiously. They were alone, sitting outside the Amagi Inn. "What will we do if she has to go back? She seems to think that's what will happen."

He didn't answer straight away, instead choosing to look at the sky above them as he considered his reply. "If she had to go…" he said finally. "I wouldn't try to stop her."

"But?"

"But I'd be right there with her at her side." Mitsuru smiled.

"A sentiment we all share, I'm sure." Mitsuru chose her next words very carefully. "Do you think she's lying to us?" she said eventually. "Her time on the seal – the way she tells it she was mostly unaware of the seal itself, and yet her eyes…"

"Yeah, she's hiding something. Whatever it is, she thinks she's doing us a favour of some kind." He laughed drily.

"Do you think you could get her to tell you?" Mitsuru asked.

"I don't know. Minako was never the easiest person to read. She always managed to be an open book and a total mystery all at the same time."

"That does rather sum her up."

"I'll try though. We all need to know."

* * *

"Everyone ready for round two then?" Shinjiro grunted, hefting Mjolnir onto his shoulder.

"As I'll ever be," Yosuke moaned.

"Let's be off then," Mitsuru said. Minako stepped forward and the double doors opened before her. Monad lay ahead.

"After you, Miss Kirijo," Naoto said politely. Mitsuru stepped forward, drawing the Snow Queen Whip in readiness. They were the last pair through the door, which closed with an ominous thump behind them.

They headed right, splitting away from Yu and Minako at the first fork they came to. Not too far ahead was a small cluster of shadows.

"Can you sense anything?" Naoto asked cautiously.

"Only vaguely," Mitsuru replied. They had taken to relying largely on Mitsuru's more limited scanning capabilities, leaving Fuuka and Rise free to help the others. "There is a weakness, and not an elemental one."

"Physical?"

"I don't think so…" she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "No, it's hama. They're weak to light."

"How do you want to approach this one then?"

"I'll distract them, draw their attention from you so they don't expect the attack, then you can unleash Mahamaon upon them. It's more likely to succeed if they are not anticipating the move."

"Very well then, when you're ready."

Mitsuru didn't even hesitate. She dashed forward with her rapier drawn, slashing to her right at one of the shadows as she passed it. The thing flinched back, almost toppling from the plush chair upon which it sat. The Empress shadows were unimpressed by her performance and one of them raised a hand, ice forming about Mitsuru's body. She simply smiled as the ice failed to find purchase, slipping harmlessly to the floor.

One of the shadows hissed and dark clouds began to gather. Mitsuru hunkered down as all three shadows raised their hands, mudo powers building and… there! Naoto saw the chance and took it.

"Yamato Sumeragi!" she yelled, shooting the card that floated before her. Her persona fluttered into existence and white cards rose from the ground around the shadows. They flashed bright gold and the shadows vanished instantly.

"Excellent," Mitsuru said, panting only slightly. "You're getting better at timing those."

"Thank you," Naoto said, bowing her head slightly. "You yourself are an excellent fighter."

"I've had many more years of practise than you," Mitsuru replied with a wry smile. "Than anyone but Minako, actually."

"What do you mean?"

"Minako awoke to the Dark Hour at the very moment it was created. Fighting in the Dark Hour is like a diluted version of training here. At first, simply breathing is difficult, but by the time we met her," Mitsuru shook her head, "she was so used to it she barely even noticed it anymore."

Naoto frowned slightly, noticing a bitter edge to Mitsuru's voice. Carefully, she said, "Is this why she joined your team?"

"She joined because I asked her to," Mitsuru said sharply before sighing and adding, "Although I will admit I press ganged her somewhat."

"If she's anything like Yu-senpai, she would have helped anyway."

"Yes, I rather believe she would have done. Still, I should have given her more time to consider her options."

* * *

"Yes! That's four floors man. This is going good." Junpei leant back against the wall and chucked back an energy drink and passing a can to Yosuke. "You didn't even break anything this time," Junpei went on. "All in all I'd consider this a roaring success."

"I'm definitely pro-not breaking bones," Yosuke agreed, cracking the can open and downing the caffeine.

"Yeah, you guys are getting way stronger here," Junpei said. "It's cool."

Yosuke lowered his can and glanced sideways at Junpei. "What's up man?"

"It's nothing."

"Come on, we're bros now. You gotta tell me when something's bugging you. That's the deal."

Junpei hesitated. "It's just… well all I really had going for me was that I was pretty much the strongest in the group except Shinjiro-senpai. But now you guys are getting all this," he gestured at the halls around them, "_And_ you've got your third tier persona on top of that." He shrugged. "It's hard not to feel like you've got nothing to offer, you know?"

Yosuke sighed. "You're still worried about that? Seriously dude, no one's gonna think you're useless."

"I never said useless," Junpei protested.

"Yeah but you totally thought it." There was no denial. "Everyone in both teams offers something different, right?" Yosuke said. "So there's something you've got that we need, even if you don't realise it right now."

"Yeah, I guess."

"So we'll just fight our way through the basement of doom and work it out as we go. Plan?"

"Plan."


	15. Chapter 15

**Just to quickly answer a question from Kanjilearner3309 before I move onto the chapter – they're training in Monad because that's where it made sense for them to go. It's full of super-hard enemies (or as hard as the mooks get, anyway) and it's the only way they can think of to find and speak with Margaret or another denizen of the now empty velvet room. Thus the quest to reach the top of Monad. :) Sorry if that wasn't clear :s (and also, yes, I did forget that Athena was Chariot. I shall make sure to mention that later on!)  
**

**Thanks for the feedback again, and hello to the new followers! There were a lot after the last chapter, so I hope this lives up to expectations!  
**

* * *

"Take that!" Junpei shouted, "And that! And this as well!" The shadow dissolved and Yosuke cheered. "Three down and that's a rap," he crowed. "Guess you just needed someone a little tougher Yukiko."

"Oh stop it," Yukiko said irritably, "They caught us by surprise and there _were_ six of them to begin with."

"Tsch, excuses," Yosuke laughed.

"You alright Yuka-tan?" Junpei asked.

"I've been better," Yukari replied, shaking her head slightly. One of the shadows had thrown her head first into the wall and she was definitely feeling the after effects. "My head is still spinning."

"I've got it," Yukiko said, firing a Mediarahan at her.

"Thanks," Yukari said rolling her shoulders in an attempt to loosen her muscles before bending down to retrieve her bow.

"Are you guys alright?" a voice asked from the end of the corridor. They turned to see an out of breath Yu and Minako hurrying towards them. "We got Rise's message…"

"We sorted it for them," Junpei said, an easy grin spreading across his face. "They were _easy_."

"Man we are never gonna live this down," Yukari grouched. "Rescued by _Stupei_ of all people."

"Still hurts," he sighed dramatically. "You'd think after I saved your life…"

"You did not save my life!"

"Then why did you go crying for help?"

"Let's split these guys up," Yu said hurriedly.

"Good plan," Minako sighed. She hesitated a moment before asking, "Junpei, why don't you come with me for a bit?" she smiled at him and he nodded somewhat uncertainly.

"Umm, sure."

"Yosuke and I'll move on up then," Yu said, turning. "Yukiko, Yukari, you should stick with us for now."

"Ok."

"Got it." They headed back the way Minako and Yu had arrived, leaving her and Junpei alone in the corridor.

"Up or down?" she asked, smiling.

"Err, let's head up I guess," he said, not meeting her eyes. They followed the others up the next staircase, but branched right at the first opportunity. They dispatched the first shadow they encountered with little effort, Thanatos and Trismegistus working in unison to tear the thing apart. As it dissolved, Minako returned Vel Vel Muruga to the straps that held it in place on her back and turned to Junpei.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she said gently.

"About what?" he snapped, his tone instantly defensive.

"Yu and I heard you and Yosuke talking yesterday," she replied after a moment. "Not deliberately, but we were round the corner and well… Junpei, you know we never would've beaten Nyx without you right?"

"I don't…"

"I mean, we never would've even gotten past _Jin_ without you, never mind the Avatar."

"I did give that guy a pretty good kicking," he said, laughing slightly.

"I remember punches. Lots of punches."

"Well he was immune to fire."

"That _was_ irritating."

"But nothing stops the great Junpei, Persona-Summonor-Extraordinaire!" Minako laughed.

"Heh, yeah."

She smiled at him, and wondered why it was so easy. She'd known these friends during the longest, hardest year of her life… why was it so easy to lie to them?

"Do you remember," she said after a moment, "When you were hunting down whoever it was handing out those photos of me in gym?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm not sure I ever thanked you enough for that."

"What?" he blushed, suddenly flustered, "Of course you did."

"Well I'm saying it again, just in case." She moved forward and held him, wrapping her arms tight about his chest. "You were my best friend Junpei, I'm sorry I had to go."

"You're… you're saying goodbye, aren't you?" he asked, subdued. She didn't reply. "Minako-chin…"

"Let me have this," she whispered. "Please. Just in case."

Silence.

"Yeah, alright."

As she withdrew, Junpei felt something warm light up in his chest, fire spreading to his limbs. As it did so, Trismegistus rose behind him and he took a deep breath.

"What is it?" Minako asked.

"It's… It's Chidori's power," he said after a moment. "The one I was left with after she died. I think it's gotten stronger."

"The spring of life, you mean?"

"Yeah." He smiled sadly. "This is her goodbye as well, isn't it?"

"Maybe. Or maybe we're both just trying to remind you that you're a good man, Junpei. We're both counting on you."

Junpei raised a hand to his chest and felt the warmth resting within. The well of life. Somehow, he knew that's what Chidori would have called it.

* * *

"You're the first people back today," Fuuka said as Juno faded away, leaving Rise to watch over their friends. "Are you alright."

"Oh I'm fine," Teddie replied grinning. "And Koro-chan's done beary well today." Koromaru barked and trotted over to Fuuka, allowing her to rub his ears affectionately.

"You've gotten much stronger over the last couple of days Teddie," she said, glancing up at him. He was wearing the bear suit, but as she watched the zip ran around of its own accord and the head popped off, revealing the boy within.

"Thanks to everyone's help," Teddie said with a wide grin, stepping out of the suit and moving to sit on the stairs. "Especially you and Rise, we couldn't have done it without you." His smile actually managed to grow a little wider somehow.

"Oh this is nothing," Fuuka assured him. "It's the least we can do with the rest of you risking your lives."

"It is something!" Teddie gasped, brow furrowing. "It's much harder to fight without someone backing you up the way you and Rise do."

"Well either way it's all I can do." Fuuka shrugged slightly. "I just want to help as much as I can so that Minako-senpai doesn't have to go again."

"We'll make sure that doesn't happen," Teddie said firmly. "Sensei said we should reach the top of Monad by the end of the week."

"I think he's right about that. Junpei grew stronger today as well, in here." She rested a hand on her heart. "They may be helping you guys become tougher, but you're helping them as well. I think they needed to see that fighting the shadows doesn't mean they can't be well adjusted people at the same time." She hesitated. "I think _I _needed to see that as well." There was a note of surprise in her voice and she smiled.

"You're beautiful when you smile," Teddie said, a suggestive gleam in his eye, and Fuuka instantly blushed scarlet. "Teddie!" she gasped, and then she snorted, giving way to laughter. She had to reign it in to regain her breath and she smiled at him again when finally she was back in control. "I'm sorry," she laughed, "I don't know what came over me."

Koromaru butted his head against her leg and she knelt beside him, scratching behind his ears. "You've been watching out for us Koro-chan," she said softly, "Ever since we took you in. You've got to help me watch out for everyone now, ok? Our new friends as well." Teddie beamed at them. And Fuuka felt something shift inside her chest. She took a deep breath and stood, moving over to rejoin Rise.

She fired her evoker and Juno surrounded her and she cast her senses out across Monad.

"_Let's go," Akihiko panted, "give them everything we've got."_

"_On it!" Kanji replied._

_Let me help_, she said to them, sending out waves of energy towards them, boosting their strength as they went all out against the shadows. Teddie was right. This was important. She could help her friends, lend them her strength. She was safe inside Juno, but she knew they would not resent that. She poured everything she could into Akihiko's fists, into Kanji's swinging shield, and the shadows disintegrated.

"_Thanks Fuuka," _Akihiko said, the words echoing in her mind. _"That was new."_

_We're all getting stronger,_ she thought back at him, _a little at a time. _

* * *

"Are you alright?" Dojima asked, examining Yu critically. "You've been awfully tired these last few days.

"I'm fine," Yu replied, smothering a yawn and smiling for Nanako's sake.

"Big bro," she said softly, her brow creasing into a frown.

"Don't worry about it Nanako, it's nothing," Yu assured her.

"Well it is your bedtime," Dojima said to her, glancing pointedly at his watch. She scowled at him, but obediently pushed herself up from the table and headed towards the stairs. "G'night Big bro, g'night dad," she called back at them.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Yu replied, smiling. The expression faded as Nanako retreated and he glanced at Dojima.

"There have been more of those attacks," he said. "Three alone over the course of last night. No one has spotted a pattern yet, at least not officially, but I have."

"Oh," Yu said, shoulders slumping.

"Each one of those creatures attacked one of your friend's houses, didn't they?"

Yu nodded. They had decided that keeping Minako on the move was the most sensible option. Questions would be asked if the shadows kept attacking the Amagi Inn.

"How much longer is this going to go on?" Dojima asked.

"Possibly until the next full moon," Yu replied reluctantly.

"And how far away is that?"

"Two weeks today."

"There have even been witnesses claiming that kids – school kids – were fighting the creatures. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" Yu didn't reply and Dojima sighed, running a hand through his hair and pushing himself to his feet.

"Be careful Yu. All of you, be careful."

* * *

Two days later and Minako and Yu were the first team to reach the ninth floor of Monad. No one was particularly surprised – from the start they'd been holding themselves back, staying on lower floors in order to offer support where needed. This had become increasingly less necessary as the strength and endurance of the Investigation Team improved, especially once Junpei and Fuuka had resolved.

"One more staircase," Minako said, her mouth a thin line as she surveyed the corridor ahead of them. The stairs were visible from where they stood, right at the end of the hall. Unfortunately, the hall was full of shadows.

"We're going to need a larger team for this," Yu said softly. "Rise, how close is everyone?"

"Most teams are on the seventh floor," Rise reported, "Kirijo, Naoto, Ken and Aragaki are on the eighth, and Teddie and Koromaru are on the sixth.

"Send them up to us," he said softly. "We'll make it today."

"Roger," Fuuka replied.


	16. Chapter 16

**And suddenly PLOT. Plot everywhere. Also Minako and Akihiko FINALLY continue that discussion. Geez guys, took you long enough. Thanks for all your support since last time, hope everyone continues to enjoy!**

* * *

Shinjiro and Ken had, for the most part, progressed through Monad in silence. There was still much unsaid between them, words that should have been said years ago but had found themselves lost in the abyss that had followed Minako's death. They worked well enough together, Kens quick mid-range style complementing Shinjiro's less polished, but just as effective, up close combat. They didn't particularly need to train either one of them up to withstand Monad, meaning they were consistently one of the more advanced teams.

When Fuuka and Rise called everyone to move to the ninth floor, they could already see the stairs. "Shall we head up?" Ken asked, resting the butt of his pole arm on the floor.

"We could," Shinjiro grunted, "Or we could finally have it out."

"I'm sorry?"

"That was the point of all this, right?" he asked. "You wanted to what? Talk it out? Beat each other up? Looks like this is the last chance we're gonna get."

Ken hesitated. "Well then let's talk."

"Where d'you wanna start?" Shinjiro swung Mjolnir down to rest on the ground and leant back against the wall, watching Ken from underneath his fringe.

"How about we start with that night?"

"Which one?" Shinjiro asked, a grunt that might have been a laugh escaping his lips. "I count three."

"The second," Ken answered after a moment's thought. "Why did you take the bullet?"

"Tsch, pretty sure I answered this one already. That's not what this is about."

"Well then you tell me!" Ken snapped. "What is it about then?"

"You still feel weak," Shinjiro replied, pushing himself away from the wall and retrieving Mjolnir. "You still think you've got to get stronger to protect them. That's why you chose to work with me – because I'm the strongest we have."

"That's not it!" Ken shouted at him. "I know I'm strong now. I can protect her!" He stopped talking and Shinjiro smirked.

"Leave it be," he said. "She's got her own problems. And she chose him, anyway. Over both of us."

Ken was stunned into silence at Shinjiro's words. He too? He shook his head. Minako had never taken his crush seriously, had joked with him but in the end always treated him like a little brother. He wondered for a moment what it must have been like for Shinjiro, watching her fall in love with his best friend, and then waking from his coma to find that neither Akihiko nor Ken, none of them in fact, had been able to protect her when it really mattered.

Shinjiro was right. Ken wasn't strong enough yet. But he would be, one day.

* * *

When Akihiko and Kanji reached the ninth floor, Ken and Shinjiro were already there. Minako and Yu were sat on the floor a short distance away, chatting. Akihiko was about to walk over and chat to Shinji when Kanji prodded his shoulder and jerked his head at Minako.

"Quit avoiding her," he said, "She's already noticed it." He spoke quietly, but when Akihiko glanced at Minako he saw that she'd broken off whatever she'd been telling Yu and had her eyes fixed upon him. His mouth felt very suddenly dry.

Yu rose to his feet and headed over to them, grinning at Kanji. The pair of them moved off, meaning Akihiko had little choice but to go and speak with Minako. He shoved his hands into his pockets in an attempt to hide his sweaty palms, and strolled over as casually as he could manage.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey." Silence. "Don't tower over me like that, sit down already," Minako laughed nervously.

"Right, yeah. Sorry." He lowered himself down so he was sat beside her in the spot just vacated by Yu.

"How did Kanji do then?" she asked.

"Fine," Akihiko replied, shrugging. "He's pretty tough."

"Yeah, it took Yu all of five minutes to get used to this place."

"Being a wild card has to be cheating," he laughed, "It didn't exactly take you very long either."

"No, that's true." She was smiling, and it warmed him to see the expression. Too often these past few days had he snuck a glance her way only to see pain or sadness in her eyes. "What do you think we'll find up there?" she asked slowly, turning her gaze past the shadows in the corridor and to the stairs at the end.

"Answers, hopefully. An explanation as to why you're here, and how we can make sure you stay."

"You're all so confident that you'll find what you're looking for," she sighed, closing her eyes and resting her head back against the wall.

"Determined I'd give you. Confident? I'm amazed we've fooled you that much." She cracked open an eye and looked at him. There was sadness in there, something deep that she wasn't telling him.

"Are you going to talk about it?" he asked softly.

"About what?" Her voice was off hand and casual, but he knew her well enough to spot the tension beneath it.

"About what it was really like on that seal?" Her body stiffened instantly, both eyes snapping open to stare at him. She seemed to realise her mistake, for barely a second later she was relaxed again, her eyes wandering to the ceiling.

"I told you," she said, "I don't really remember most of it."

"Minako…" He began.

"Aki, I really don't want to talk about it. Can we just focus on getting to the top of Monad for today?"

"You need to talk to someone. Even if it isn't me, Aigis would…"

"I said I don't want to talk about it," she snapped, and her eyes flashed dangerously.

"Ok. Sorry I asked. He looked down at his lap and tried to think of what to say.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have snapped like that. I just… I want to concentrate on living, while I'm here."

"Maybe you should do something other than fight shadows and sleep then?" he suggested.

"I dunno, days are shorter than I remember. It's like I lost an hour somewhere."

Akihiko laughed, "I'm being serious. You should get out, do something you _want_ to do."

"That… that sounds really nice, but you know I can't go anywhere with lots of people. The shadows would attack."

"Right. Yeah."

"Hey, you two," a voice shouted at them from a short way away, "are you gonna keep chatting, or shall we head upstairs." Yosuke was grinning at them, sheathing his Kunai as the last shadow disappeared. Minako and Akihiko had been so absorbed in their conversation that, somehow, they had totally missed the appearance of the rest of the fighters, and the fight to the stairs.

Minako snorted softly to herself. Then she laughed. Akihiko smiled, and soon he was laughing himself. It wasn't that funny, but seeing Minako laugh… for a moment he could believe that everything would turn out alright.

* * *

Margaret was waiting for them. She sat upon a blue chaise-long and in her arms she held two persona compendiums, one black and one brown. The black one was tattered, pages seemingly torn from the spine.

"I was wondering when you would reach the top," she said, pushing herself to her feet. "Congratulations, you have found what you seek."

"And what is it that we seek?" Minako asked carefully.

"Answers of course."

"Why didn't you give them earlier?" Mitsuru demanded. "If you knew, why dance around the subject in this manner?"

"I did not know, until recently," Margaret replied. "In fact it was only today that the true desperation of your plight was laid bare."

"Our… plight?" Yu asked after a moment.

Margaret nodded. "Watch," she instructed, turning to face the empty space behind her. The air shimmered, and suddenly it was as though they were watching a screen. Minako stiffened and Akihiko glanced down at her. Her eyes were wide and afraid and suddenly he realised that she knew what they were looking at.

It was the seal. It had to be. The door was huge, full gold decorated with six eyes that span to stare out at them. A small figure was standing before the doors – Minako. Even as he watched, tethers snaked towards her, pulling her arms out to either side. The vision-Minako let out a sharp cry – a shout of pain – and Minako herself drew back, away from what they were seeing. Akihiko could not tear his eyes from the vision. Blood was running from Minako's arms from where the tethers were lifting her from the ground to rest high above the door.

Her skin was turning ashen, the soft surface slowly transforming into solid stone. He watched as her face was set, her eyes becoming lifeless. He watched as she became the seal.

Yet still he knew there was pain, could tell just by watching that had she still been what she had been before, she would have been screaming. At last he turned away and he saw Minako curled up on the ground, her arms above her head, shaking. Instantly he was beside her and his arms wrapped around her, feeling her warmth and giving her his own.

"It's alright," he whispered in as soothing a voice as he could manage, though he knew the words were cracked. "You're not there anymore; you're here, with us. You won't ever have to go back there."

"This was the state of the seal for the past two years," Margaret was saying. "However, there was… interference recently." Akihiko watched the vision over Minako's head. A man in blue was on the screen, and Minako no longer hung above the door. The tethers, which he could now see were wire, thick and covered in sharp barbs, hung loose.

"She is free," the man said firmly. "Take me in her place."

_You are not human_, a voice whispered – Ryoji's voice. _You cannot hold the seal alone._

"Let me try!" he cried. "For her, let me try!"

_Very well_.

The vision faded. "What happened?" Mitsuru asked. "Did he hold the seal?"

"He could not do it," Margaret said, shaking her head. "The seal is on the verge of total collapse. It will fail by midnight tonight."

"By midnight?" Chie gasped, "But you said the full moon…"

"While the seal will break this evening, Nyx will be unable to emerge until the moon is full."

"Eleven days," Aigis said softly.

It wasn't long enough. Not nearly long enough. Minako had gone quiet in Akihiko's arms, and everyone was still and silent.

"The Nyx Avatar, who hails the arrival of Nyx, will step into your world tonight. He will wait for you, and you must go to him if you wish to prevent Nyx and build the seal anew."

"There has to be another way," Akihiko exclaimed. "There must be another way to stop Nyx!"

"The seal was purpose built to protect mankind from it's own selfish desires. There is no other way. I am… sorry."

"What happened to Theodore?" Minako asked softly, finally raising her head. "What happened to him?"

"The seal requires the life essence of a human being to hold Nyx back. Whatever my brothers and I are, we are not human. It has drained him of much of his power. Tonight it will take what is left, and he will die." Minako looked stricken.

"I have to go back, don't I?" she whispered.

Margaret hesitated. "It would be for the best."

* * *

They emerged into Junes and it was already dark. The store was empty but for the security Mitsuru had waiting for them and silence hung between them all.

"Five minutes till midnight," Rise said, her voice hollow.

Five minutes until Ryoji would come and find them. Akihiko had his arm around Minako, and she knew that without it she would not be able to even put one foot in front of the other. They reached the front of the store without words, although Chie did eventually break the silence.

"How will we know when he's coming? The avatar?"

"We'll know," Minako said. Akihiko looked down at her. There was no emotion in either her voice or her eyes. Her weight sagged against him and she looked so tired.

Then the sky went green. It had rained earlier in the day and the water around their feet turned red. Akihiko glanced down at his watch, but the second hand had stopped moving.

"The dark hour," he said. "It's back."

"But it is not the same." His eyes snapped forward and narrowed as a figure moved through the gloom towards them. He looked exactly as he remembered, complete with his yellow scarf.

"How is it different?" Mitsuru demanded.

"Mankind can no longer turn a blind eye to the coming of Nyx. They have edged closer and closer to the truth, and now they see it with their own eyes. Observe," he was looking to the security detail.

Mitsuru sucked in a breath. "They haven't transmogrified," she whispered, eyes wide.

"Not all of humanity will be so receptive," Ryoji continued, "but far more of them are aware now of the truth their subconscious keeps from them." He turned to Minako, stepping carefully over the pools of blood. He raised a hand to her face and sighed.

"I'm sorry it's come to this Minako. You were so brave, and… and I was not strong enough to help you. Perhaps this time…" he reached into his pocket and drew out a gun. Not an evoker, but a revolver.

"There is a single bullet in the chamber," he said softly. "Please. This time."

Minako held the gun in trembling fingers, but did not raise it. "How can I?" she asked. "How could I possibly kill you knowing we can hold Nyx back? Knowing I can stop her again?"

The gun clattered to the floor. "What's my life for the safety of humanity, Ryoji?" She was crying, tears trickling slowly down her face. "I'm not worth that much, after all."

"There are those who would disagree," he whispered. "Please, I will return the night before the moon is full. Think on your decision."


	17. Chapter 17

**Sorry this took so long! Please thank Jam-Man265 for reminding me how long it had been since the last update. I totally lost track of time on this!**

**Hopefully it was worth the wait, there's an awful lot happening in this chapter!**

* * *

Minako didn't speak when they returned to Junes. Nor did she speak as they travelled to the Inn. When they arrived, she headed to the room Rise had booked for her and locked the door behind her. No one knew what to say or how to fix what was happening. The news was a punch that had winded the entire group.

To lose Minako once had been devastating, for it to happen again so soon after they'd gotten her back? Yukari knew she couldn't handle it. The gardens were quiet – as far as she could tell she was the only person there.

Just seeing Minako again after two years had broken down every wall and barrier she'd built, the defences she'd created to keep herself safe. As darkness fell around her, she glared up at the moon and cursed the Goddess Nyx, cursed her own shitty luck for getting involved in the whole mess two years ago, and cursed…

"Hey, Yuka-tan." The voice was subdued, not as vibrant as usual. She heard the rustle of fabric as Jumpei moved over and sat beside her. "You think we can win this time?" he asked.

"Honestly?"

"Yeah."

"We didn't win last time. Not really. Why should this be any different?"

Hesitation. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

"Is she still in her room?"

"Yeah. Mitsuru's threatening to fetch the master key if she doesn't open up soon though."

"What did Yukiko say about that?"

"Officially she said she couldn't condone it. Unofficially, she dropped the key in Mitsuru's room earlier and can't find it anywhere."

Clouds were gathering overhead, dark and threatening rain.

"She'll go back, won't she?" Yukari asked. "If we can't find another way."

"Yeah, I think she will. Means we'll just have to stop her."

"If we can."

* * *

"Minako, please. We need to talk about this."

She ignored them. Had been ignoring them since she returned. It was close to midnight and the lights were off in her room, the only illumination the pale moonlight that lanced through the gap in the curtain.

The truth was she wanted to talk. She needed to talk, but not to them. They were too invested, too biased. She missed her other friends from Iwatodai. What would they tell her, she wondered?

Mutatsu would tell her to be strong and face her problems, just as he had in the end. He'd gone back to his wife and son to face his demons. Admittedly, his demons weren't on the sheer scale of Nyx, but he'd done it nonetheless. Minako knew that whatever happened, she had to be there for the arrival of Nyx. She'd never let her friends face that without her. The old monk had been strange, but he'd had the odd piece of good advice for her, amongst his ramblings. His final decision was one of those.

In the corner of the room, the clock was ticking. She glanced over, watching as the hands approached conversion – twelve midnight.

_Tick. Tick. Tick._

Something shattered and the sound of tinkling glass filled her ears. The light in the room shifted, going from silver to green. The clock stopped ticking and outside someone screamed.

Instinct kicked in at that moment and Minako leapt from the bed, racing to the door, fumbling with the lock and wrenching it open. The others were outside, their expressions showing they were just as confused as she felt.

"What is this?" Chie asked, glancing nervously around the dark corridor. More screams sounded from outside.

"Have they not transmogrified?" Ken asked.

"It was raining," Yukari gasped. "The puddles…"

"Will have turned to blood. Let's go," Mitsuru instructed, barking orders to everyone, "We need to make sure people stay as calm as possible. Fuuka, find Rise and begin monitoring Inaba for shadow activity, _now_. Everyone else, evokers ready."

"What about… You know," Junpei said.

"Secrecy can no longer be a priority," Mitsuru said finally. "We simply have to hope for containment. Go!"

A shot rang out and Juno appeared about Fuuka. "_There are three shadows converging on the Inn_," she reported, "_The town is teeming with them!"_

"I'll take the town," Minako said, her mind whirring as she tried to think of the best way to handle the situation. "Our strongest should be there. Mitsuru, Akihiko, Yukari with me. Yu, pick your own team and follow as quickly as you can and we'll take the main street. Shinji, Ken I want you to head to the more residential areas and make as much of a fuss as you can, draw the shadows to you. Junpei, take Koromaru and protect the Inn."

"Got it," Junpei said, nodding gravely.

"Aigis," she said, glancing to Yu. "Go to Yu's house. Protect Nanako."

Yu appeared surprised, but grateful as Aigis replied, "Affirmative." Minako had heard enough from Rise to know that Yu would not go anywhere unless he thought Nanako was safe first, and they needed him where the shadows were most plentiful.

"You heard her, move out!" Mitsuru ordered, and SEES scrambled into action.

"Teddie, Chie, Yosuke with me," Yu said after a moment, "Kanji, Naoto, Yukiko – you guys stay here with the others and make sure the guests at the Inn stay away from any shadows."

"Senpai!" Rise was barrelling down the hall towards them. "What are we going to do?"

"Rise, you come with us into Inaba. Fuuka, you can scan the town from here, right?"

"Yes."

"Good, keep an eye out and warn us if anyone's in any particular danger. Is there anywhere we need to concentrate."

"There are a lot of shadows at the police office."

"The police office?" he cursed. That was _beyond_ typical.

"Yu?" Chie asked.

"Let's go," he said, shaking his head. "Kirijo was right, secrecy isn't the priority anymore." It was midnight, there was always the chance Dojima had left work on time. A slim one, anyway.

* * *

"Where are these things even coming from?" Dojima yelled, ducking back to reload.

"There are more coming at the back," Toshi, his partner, panted from not too far away, "And Hideo said the streets are flooded with them.

"Anything on the radios?"

"Nothing, all communication went down the moment this," he gestured at the red puddles on the steps around them, "Happened."

Dojima took a deep breath, leaned about the corner and loosed every bullet in his gun into the approaching, writhing mass of darkness. The thing moved slowly, but it was drawing closer and closer to the reinforced doors of the station. They were open for now, allowing Dojima and Toshi to take shots at the creature, but it seemed to be making little difference.

"We need more officers in the town proper," Dojima growled, "We need to get closer."

"Closer, and attack it with what?"

"There must be something in the lock up," Dojima replied, wracking his brain.

Then a thought struck him. There _was_ something they could use.

* * *

Minako did not hesitate for one second. She ran forward into the main street. It was not empty despite the late hour, and many shop owners had come out of their apartments to see what the noise was, to understand the green light of the moon.

She ran forward into it all, raised her evoker and cried out a name. "Thanatos!"

* * *

Aigis charged into the living room. The door had been broken and was swinging on its hinges. Nanako Dojima was in the corner of the room, eyes wide and wet as the Maya slithered across the floor.

"Athena, I need your help!" Aigis shouted and the persona bloomed above her as a golden fist slammed into the Maya. She raised her arm and the gun there rattled, bullets slamming into the shadow as it shrieked and died.

"Nanako," she said hurriedly, running over to the cowering girl. She shrank away, her eyes flickering between the dying shadow, the gun that was Aigis' arm and the blue eyes of her saviour. "Nanako, your big brother sent me to protect you."

"Big bro?"

"Yes. He would come himself, but he is needed to save lives in the town."

"Daddy…"

"Narukami has gone to the police station," Aigis said, her voice as soothing as she could manage. "He will protect your father. Nanako, we must go. It will be safer for you at the Amagi Inn."

"Will Yukiko and the others be there?" she asked quietly.

"Yes. Yukiko and some more of your big brother's friends are waiting for you there. They need to know you are safe, Nanako. Will you come with me?"

"I… yes."

"Very well, please climb on my back."

"On your back?"

"Yes. We need to run. Fast."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, he and Toshi returned to the doors to see the men who'd taken over from them hastily retreating as the creature pulled itself inside with one wriggling, twisting arm. There were others behind it now as well, many more shadowy monsters that roared and cried and screeched as they clawed their way towards the building as though intent on destroying both it and everything inside.

Toshi had been sceptical, but Dojima couldn't explain why he thought this was the best way to go about things. Yu and the Hanamura kid had been caught taking the weapons into Junes. When Nanako had gone missing, they had (supposedly) found her in Junes.

Yu knew something about these creatures, had fought them before. It stood to reason, then, that he'd intended to wield these weapons against them.

They ran forward and Dojima slammed the sword down upon the creature as though it was a baseball bat and the thing recoiled, shrieking in pain.

"Yes!" Toshi shouted, striking inexpertly with the Kunai but nonetheless causing damage.

"Get more weapons," Dojima hollered, "Anything you can hit it with!"

That was when a shining green light erupted through the door. A voice was shouting words none of them understood, but echoed around them in the corridor nonetheless, "Takehaya Susano-o, Magarudyne!" Wind buffeted at them and Dojima felt himself sliding backwards on the tiled floor. The monster before him was unaffected, but the others cried out in unison, dissolving.

"Senpai!" a new voice shouted from the other side of the door, out of sight. "It's immune to piercing and wind, but it's not particularly strong!"

"Right! Any weaknesses?"

"Try electricity!"

"Ishtar!" There was the sound of a gun being fired and white light filled the corridor, temporarily blinding Dojima and his colleagues. There was a crash of thunder that echoed within the confined space and the monster before them shrieked, the shadow stuff of its skin boiling and seething as it slowly bubbled away into nothing.

As the creature disappeared, it revealed the figures standing behind it. Four of them, three further forward than the last.

The central figure held a gun held in one hand, the barrel smoking. It was not this at which they stared, however, but rather at the woman hovering above his head. Hair flapping in the breeze, skin glowing with an unearthly light and large horns sprouting from either side of her head.

She faded, and the young man lowered his weapon.

"Yu?" Dojima sputtered.

"Senpai," the fourth figure had hurried forward and Dojima recognised Rise, Yu's girlfriend. "There are more at the back, some really powerful ones. We need to go."

"Ok. Yosuke, Teddie, you go ahead and join Chie. I'll catch up. Rise, support them. I'll be as quick as I can." She hesitated a moment, looking him in the eyes, and nodded, turning and hurrying after the boys.

"Is this it then?" Dojima asked. "Is this what you were fighting for the last year?"

"Yeah."

"Nanako…"

"She's safe. One of our strongest is protecting her."

Dojima sagged as relief flooded his tense muscles.

"We could do with some help out back," Yu said after a moment. "They won't all be immune to piercing, so your guns should be more useful." He eyes the sword Dojima was still holding and smiled faintly.

"Right. Ok," Dojima said with a nod. "Let's do this."


	18. Chapter 18

**Hurray, update-y goodness! It's a purely fighting chapter this time, which meant it took a little less time, but it was so much fun to write. I've underused the Investigation Team a little in battle, I think, and part of what I wanted to stress with this fic is that (while I believe SEES would be physically stronger/more resilient) they are more in tune with their personas than SEES - thus the individual abilities, like Youthful Wind and Burning Petals, which get much showcasing herein. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Maralagydine!" Minako yelled, her evoker firing as she stared down the high street. Flames erupted all around, every single shadow crying out in pain as Orpheus Telos hovered above them – Minako had never before been so grateful for the time she'd spent training Mara for the skill Theo had mentioned in his cagey warning about the… unusual persona.

"Isis!" Wind swept at the creatures, fanning the flames and hurting those who were immune to damage by fire. Yukari pulled back her bowstring and loosed an arrow into a particularly resilient maya, which cried out and dissolved.

"Artemisia!"

"Ceasar!" Their cries echoed as their personas flashed above them, ice and lightning reigning down upon shadows that didn't stand a chance. Civilians cowered in and amongst the shadows, illuminated only by the strange green light of the dark hour.

All except for two. They stood by the petrol station, beside a now defunct car, fighting a losing battle with the equipment in the car boot. "It was working fine when we left!" one of them protested.

"Look around," his partner pointed out, "Nothing's working here, even the streetlights have gone out, just leave it and get in the damn car!"

"That doesn't work either!"

"It's more protection than we've got out here. Leave it and hide!"

"I won't miss this. It's the biggest story I've ever seen, biggest of our career."

"Not if we're dead it isn't!"

* * *

"What's with the gun?" Dojima asked pointedly as they ran through the station.

"It's not a gun," Yu replied, "And it was a gift from Mitsuru Kirijo."

"If it's not a gun, what is it?"

"It's probably easier if you just wait and see." They emerged out of the station to see the car park. Yosuke and Teddie were just ahead of them, and alone in the midst of a huge crowd of shadows stood Chie.

"Aww man," Yosuke said, "I can't even bring myself to watch."

"We need to help her!" Dojima exclaimed.

"It's not that," Yu replied, smirking slightly. "Yosuke's just annoyed Chie's getting all the fun."

Chie was grinning from ear to ear as the shadows converged, and in her hand she held her evoker, the barrel pointed straight at her temple.

"Come on," she muttered, "Just a little closer…"

"What's she doing?" Dojima asked, his voice clearly worried, "Is she going to shoot herself?"

"Just watch."

"She already charged up," Yosuke said, shaking his head, "Those guys don't stand a chance."

"There!" Chie shouted, her finger tightening on the trigger as she screwed her eyes shut. Then she fired. "Haraedo-no-Okami, Agneyastra!"

The shot fired and glass broke as Chie's persona flared above her, twirling the double bladed sword as the sky above opened and spewed humongous lumps of burning hot meteor. The shadows, realising their mistake too late, screeched and tried to crawl, run or drag themselves away only to be struck down even as Chie lowered her evoker.

Very few survived, and Yosuke and Teddie dispatched them in short order. When the last one had finally dissolved, Dojima turned to Yu. "What the hell," he asked, "Is going on?"

"It's a long story."

* * *

"Arf!" Cerberus howled as fire lit the night, the last of the shadows at the Inn dissolving away. Aigis ran through the fire even as the shadow died, turning and skidding to a halt.

"There are more on the way," she said calmly.

"Yukiko?" Nanako asked quietly.

"It's alright sweetie," Yukiko said, hurrying over and gently lifting the scared girl down from Aigis' back. "I'll protect you until your big bro comes, ok?" Nanako nodded and when Yukiko set her down Nanako took hold of her hand and held it tightly. Yukiko squeezed it and turned to the approaching horde.

"It's alright," she said calmly as Junpei took a step forward, "I've got this. Nanako, I need you to close your eyes for me, ok?"

"Close my eyes?"

"And you must promise not to peek. Can you do that for me?"

"I… yes."

"Good, are they closed?"

"Mm-hm." Nanako said, nodding.

Yukiko raised her evoker with her free right hand, pointing at her temple. "Turn to scarlet," she spat at the approaching shadows, and fired without hesitation. She barely even blinked.

The red lotus bloomed at the centre of the approaching horde. There were no survivors.

* * *

Shinjiro glanced nervously around at the houses that surrounded them, collar high and hat pulled low. "Anything?" he asked Ken, who was heading his way down the street. "Still no sign of any shadows," Ken replied, "They seem to be concentrated in the more public areas of town."

"Good," Shinjiro said, his shoulders relaxing slightly as he let out a breath.

"Still, there could be one nearby, best to keep our guard up."

"Yeah." His fingers tightened slightly on the grip of his hammer. They walked through the streets in silence for a short while, the fight on the main street echoing around them in the otherwise quiet street. Sometimes they would see a curtain twitch, but when the people inside saw a pair of heavily armoured youths on the street, they seemed to deem it safer to remain inside.

When they finally encountered a shadow, it was in a dead end. A large hulking Jotun that turned it's head lazily towards them, rocking forward slightly. _"It's a Jotun of Blood_," Fuuka's voice echoed in their minds, making them jump, "It's weak to darkness, but you should probably weaken it a little first."

"Right, got it," Ken replied, reaching for his evoker.

"No," Shinjiro growled, hefting his hammer, "No personas. Not here." And he charged.

* * *

As the light of the dark hour faded away, Minako faced the final shadow on the main street. The thing was huge, white skin sagging as it rocked forward slightly.

"_A Jotun of Grief,"_ Fuuka told her, _"There are three Jotuns spaced through Inaba, I think once they're defeated the shadows will stop for tonight. They're much stronger than the others."_

"Who else is fighting the Jotuns?"

"_Yu and his friends are preparing to meet one at the station, and Shinjiro-senpai and Ken are fighting one."_

"Yukari, Mitsuru – go and help Ken and Shinji."

"On it," Yukari said, turning and sprinting away. Mitsuru followed, speaking hurriedly to Fuuka as the other girl relayed the position of the Jotun.

"Read, Aki?" Minako asked, rolling her shoulders and raising her naginata.

"As I'll ever be," he replied. She grinned at him, and he smiled back. For a moment, it felt like the past two years had never happened, as though they were simply back in Tartarus and this was just another shadow waiting to be exterminated. It felt _good_.

* * *

"There's a big one coming," Rise said, Kouzeon flashing away as she hurried over, "Fuuka says there are three dotted about Inaba, and we can both sense something… _icky_ about them. I reckon if these three die, the shadows'll stop for now."

"Finally," Yu panted. Even after Chie's spectacular performance, the sheer number of shadows never seemed to die down – there were always more, and neither Rise nor Fuuka could work out where they were coming from. "Fuuka says Aigis and Nanako have reached the Inn. Yukiko's got her now."

"Thank goodness," Dojima said, running a hand across his unshaven jaw. "There are a few… what is it? Persona users? There are a few of them there?"

"Yukiko, Naoto, Kenji and a few members of Kirijo's group," Yu answered, nodding. "She'll be safe there, I promise."

Dojima nodded and turned to Rise. "So, what's this strong shadow got going for it?" he asked.

"Fuuka called it a 'Jotun of Evil'," she said.

"That sounds gloriously ominous," Yosuke said drily.

"It should do," Rise said, shaking her head. "From what I can tell, it's a souped up version of a shadow we fought in Mugatsu Mandala." She shot Dojima a nervous look.

"Mugatsu what?" he asked.

"It was a place Adachi created within the television," Yu said, "Something he used to distract us while we chased him."

"Right. I'll pretend that made sense and we'll ask Rise what kills this thing."

"Physical strength or almighty magic only," she supplied.

"Great," Yosuke said, spinning his Kunai. "You ready for this Teddie?"

"I can't bear the waiting!" Teddie exclaimed. Yosuke simply shook his head in exasperation.

"Kouzeon!" Rise called, making a number of policemen jump as the persona appeared, resting the visor over her eyes. "It's coming," she said softly. "Be ready."

* * *

"It's working!" he shouted, staring down at the equipment, "Just in the nick of time as well! Must be something to do with the light changing back."

"You're kidding?" his partner said, scrambling out of the car and examining the camera his partner was even now lugging onto his shoulder.

"Try calling the station, see if we can get this live, I've got a satellite connection already. This is amazing."

"My phone's back on! I'll call them right now, see what I can do."

* * *

"Artemisia!"

"Isis!"

Ice and wind blasted the Jotun, sending it spinning and crashing into the wall of a house.

"Be careful!" Shinji bellowed, throwing them a dark look. "No personas!"

"Aragaki-" Mitsuru began hotly.

"Not a discussion," he replied before charging forward once again, hammer smacking into the creature's side, followed by a hard kick that made the thing wail.

An arrow flew within a foot of Shiniro, striking the Jotun in the face. It's hands moved laboriously to cradle the wound, as it cried out and Shinji brought his hammer crashing down again.

The Jotun didn't seem to like that and it lashed out, hand catching him in the stomach. Now it was his turn to fly into a house, and he heard a distinct crack in his shoulder.

"Isis!" again there was the bang of an evoker.

"No!" he roared, even as the healing energy surrounded him.

"Aragaki be reasonable," Mitsuru snapped, stepping forward to pull him to his feet. "We need to use our personas to beat it."

"No," he gasped, "Not here. Never here."

Mitsuru hesitated for a moment and then her eyes widened, and she glanced at the houses that surrounded them – small, tightly packed residential buildings. When she looked at him again, her eyes had narrowed and become slits.

"You think you're more likely to harm these people by summoning your persona than by letting that creature live the extra five, maybe ten, minutes it would take us to defeat it without them, then that is your decision as far as Castor is concerned. It is ours in regards to our own personas."

She turned, raised her evoker and shouted, "Artemisia!"

* * *

"Izanagi-no-Okami!" Yu shouted, and megidolaon briefly blinded them even as the Jotun of Evil flailed and fell.

"Everyone, now!" Rise shouted, "I've got your back!"

They piled against the creature, Yosuke and Teddie in the lead, Yu not far behind and as many policemen as could fit around the creature hitting it with whatever they could reach.

"It's weakening!" Rise shouted in triumph even as the thing pulled itself upright once more. "Keep fighting!"

* * *

Shinjiro stumbled forward, the light of Artemisia's and Isis' attacks illuminating the battle for him. Ken stood a short distance away between him and the Jotun. His head turned as he looked between the fight and Shinjiro still limping towards him. He'd lost his pole arm at some point, and was left with only his evoker.

"Don't," Shinjiro panted.

"Fuuka," Ken asked, his voice shaking, "Is it resistant to light?"

"_No_," she replied after a moment, "_But it's not weak to it either_."

"I can end this," Ken said softly, gazing at the destruction around them. His eyes flickered once more to Shinjiro, and they seemed to apologise as he raised his evoker.

"Kala-Nemi!" he shouted. White light erupted around them, and the Jotun cried out one last time before there was only the quiet of the night, and the soft bubbling of the dead shadow-stuff.

* * *

"One last time Senpai!" Rise shouted, "We're almost there."

"Yosuke, a pick me up would be good," Yu panted, falling back and wiping his sleeve over a cut on his forehead.

"Got it. Blow through!" Takahaya Susano-o leapt into the air above him and the wind swirled around them. Dojima marvelled at the sudden lightness in his limbs, and the absence of the weariness he had been feeling.

"I've got this," Yosuke shouted even as Yu made to move, and he darted forwards. The Jotun slowly turned his attention to Yosuke and lunged forward with one massive arm only for Yosuke to step left and avoid the strike. The Jotun growled in frustration, turning to face the approaching boy. Very suddenly, it seemed to speed up. No longer were it's movements slow and lethargic. Instead, they came fast and swift – the thing was striking at Yosuke, but every time it was just a hair's breadth too late as Yosuke danced out of the way, laughing as he weaved and bobbed closer and closer to the thing.

"Teddie!" he shouted, "Surprise me!"

"On it!" Teddie shouted, raising his evoker and screwing his eyes closed. "Come on miracle!" Kamui-Moshiri roared into being above him and golden light shone across the battlefield. The Jotun's head snapped upwards and it's eyes widened in sudden panic, arms retreating to cover it's head as it howled.

"Here we go!" Yosuke shouted, leaping upwards and striking, driving a single Kunai into the Jotun's arm. As it shouted and flinched, Yosuke held on, letting it drag him upwards and waiting for the perfect moment – there! He slashed down with his other Kunai, stabbing it into the shadow's eye.

It cried out once more and was silent. Yosuke fell to the ground, rolling away from the dissolving gunk that had once been the Jotun. "Well," he said, coughing, "That was fun."

* * *

"Ceasar!" Minako felt the strength from Akihiko's persona flood her body as she swung her naginata at the Jotun, slicing into it's leg before darting out of the way of the shadow's own attack. The thing was powerful, but it was also slow – it couldn't hurt her if it couldn't hit her. Akihiko darted forward and threw a punch at the wound she'd created, his skull gloves doing far more damage than should have been possible. The thing bellowed in pain and she knew they'd nearly won.

Panting, Minako reached for her evoker, raising it to her temple. Unaware of the camera rolling behind her, projecting images live to televisions around Japan, she pulled the trigger.

Glass shattered and the world changed.

"Helel!" she shouted. As the light of the morning star battered the shadow Helel rose above, resplendent with holy light. Akihiko fell back, watching as the Jotun dissolved under the onslaught and silence filled the street at last.


	19. Chapter 19

**This chapter is mostly follow up, so to compensate it's longer than usual :D Enjoy!**

* * *

Rio was having a fairly average week. She'd returned to Iwatodai only a few days ago – a flying visit home before she went abroad for the tennis training camp she'd been looking forward to for the past couple of months. It started in just over a week and she could already feel the excitement mounting.

When she woke up, the first thing she noticed was that it was about an hour earlier than her usual wake up time. She frowned, sitting up and checking her clock – the alarm would go off in fifty minutes, but she felt well rested.

Well, she reasoned, time for a morning jog then. She pushed the covers to one side and hopped out of bed, humming to herself as she fetched the various parts of her kit from the drawers and cupboards they were stashed in. Absently, she turned on the television and began to change.

"_Reports have flooded in from around the world about this mysterious occurrence, which seems to have been a global phenomenon. Planes were halted in the sky, cars stopped in the street and all other electronics stopped functioning for approximately one hour." _

Rio straightened, pulling up her shorts and frowning at the TV. That sounded… _odd_.

"_The footage that has most people talking can now be confirmed to have originated from Inaba, a small town near Okina city right here in Japan."_

That wasn't too far away, Rio thought, sitting on the edge of the bed. What on Earth was going on?

The news anchor disappeared as the footage she had mentioned was played. At first, nothing much was visible – the camera man was running down the street, panting as he went. The sounds were unsettling, loud roars and shrieks that set her teeth on edge, combined with human shouts and what sounded like gunfire.

Off camera, someone shouted a name – was it Caesar? – before finally the camera was raised. If Rio had been stood up, she might have fallen over in shock. That was _definitely _Akihiko Sanada, she was sure of it. She hadn't seen him since Minako's funeral, but he was quite distinctive.

There was a second figure, standing a little further away from the camera and Rio couldn't quite make out their face, and nor could she identify the writhing black mass in the background. She did, however, spot the gun the figure was pointing at her temple and instinctively she looked away.

"Helel!" the shout was barely audible over the roaring and shrieking and wailing of the creature, but the tinkling of breaking glass seemed to eclipse all other sounds. Rio peered out from between her fingers and gazed in wonder at the six winged angel that now hovered above the street. The camera was aimed up at it as the camera man moved around, edging closer to the strange mass of shadows as it shrank.

The shot panned down just before the light faded away, focusing in on the face of the girl who had summoned the angel. Rio's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened. She would never mistake that face – not in a million years.

* * *

_**A few hours earlier**_

"Is that it then?" Dojima asked.

"I think so, for now," Rise replied as Kouzeon scanned the station. "There's nothing nearby, and Fuuka says the shadows at the edge of the town are disappearing."

"Thank god," Chie moaned, collapsing onto the ground, "Endurance training was helpful and all, but I'm wrecked. That thing was _nasty_."

"No kidding," Teddie replied, huffing as he sank down next to her, "It was a _beary_ difficult fight." No one dignified this with a response.

"We should get to the Inn, check on Nanako," Yu said as he lowered his evoker.

"Yes. Nanako. Good," Dojima looked exhausted. He and his colleagues had done all they could to hold back the shadows, and they had the cuts and bruises to show for it. "Come on, I'll drive. We'll all go, and when we get there, you and your friends can explain exactly what is going on here. Toshi," he barked, "You're in charge here."

* * *

"Mina," Akihiko said cautiously, stepping forwards. She was staring down at the bubbling remains of the Jotun, evoker in one hand and Naginata lying on the ground beside her. He bent down to pick it up.

"I'm alright," she said softly, her eyes finally moving to meet his, "Let's head back." Akihiko's heart sank as she looked at him – the light wasn't gone, not as it had been before the fight, but it was dimmer, more subdued. That fierce _need_ to protect that he'd always admired in her had sustained her while there were shadows to be fought, but now they were gone…

"Hey, hey! Excuse me! Can you tell us what those things were?" Akihiko's head snapped around as he saw two men running towards them. One of them held a microphone, the other a camera. He felt Mina grab his hand.

"Come on Aki," she gasped, and ran. At first he was shocked enough that he let himself be dragged along, but soon enough they were running together, away from the cameras and the curious people finally rising to their feet. There would be a time for questions, but they weren't ready quite yet.

* * *

Dojima's coffee had long gone cold, and his phone had rung so many times over the past hour that eventually he'd given up and turned it off. Nanako was asleep on his knee, although she was getting a little big for it, curled peacefully against his chest.

"And you've been fighting these things for how long?" he asked Mitsuru.

"Five years or so now," she replied calmly, "Ever since I first accessed the Dark Hour."

"And you've been fighting the longest?"

"That would be Aigis, although Minako has had the most exposure to the shadows."

"I could access the Dark Hour from the very beginning," she explained.

"Because of the whole," Dojima, lost for words, made a gesture with one of his hands as if to say _that thing_.

"Because of that, yes."

"And this seal, you know how to repair it?"

"We're working on it," Yu replied before that discussion could start up again in earnest. "We have until the next full moon."

"How far away is that?"

"Ten days," Yukari answered.

"Is there a… contingency plan?"

"Yes," Minako replied shortly, before Junpei (who had opened his mouth to speak) could reply. "No matter what happens, Nyx will not escape and the shadows will stop."

"Good, good."

"For today, the question needs to be how are we going to handle the press attention that's going to be focused on Inaba?" Mitsuru asked. "They already have footage of Minako and Akihiko, and it's going to be difficult to conceal any further identities at this point."

"That's easy," Rise said, "We just need a PR manager."

"And you have someone in mind?" Yosuke asked, laughing.

"Sure. I'll do it. I'm a recognisable face and a household name. There's a certain amount of trust that's built into that. If Yukari helps, it'll be a cinch!"

"I'm not sure it'll be that easy…" Yukari said uncertainly.

"Either way, we need to answer the questions before someone else does," Yukiko pointed out, "We want our side of the story to be the first one people hear. I learned that when the murders started affecting business at the Inn. The sooner you give them satisfactory answers, the sooner they leave you alone."

"I don't think we'll ever get left alone over this one," Junpei said in a resigned fashion, leaning back in his chair.

"True enough, but what Amagi says is not wrong. I suggest a breakfast press conference, led by Takeba and Kujikawa, if they are willing to sign their names to this business in the public eye."

"Great," Rise said, clapping her hands. "I'll start making the calls." She stood and hurried over to the door, already pressing buttons on her phone.

"Detective," Mitsuru said, turning to Dojima, "I understand this has probably put you in a… difficult position, but I implore you to allow us to continue to defend the citizens of Inaba."

"From what I can see," Dojima replied after a moment's pause, "You kids have been fighting these things for years, saving countless lives. I'm not gonna be the one to stand in the way of that."

"Thank you. If you could spare a few officers for crowd control at the conference in the morning, we'd be very grateful."

"I'll see to it personally," Dojima replied.

"Thank you. For now I suggest everyone gets some rest. We'll be up quite prompt in the morning."

One by one, the various team members drifted from the room. Minako shook her head as Junpei made as if to talk to her. "Tomorrow. I promise," she said. He hesitated, and then nodded.

Dojima hoisted Nanako up as he stood and turned to Yu. "I'm proud of you son," he said softly, "I may not understand everything, but I know you're doing a good thing here, and that it's dangerous."

"But we're the only ones who can," Yu replied.

"I know. Why do you think I haven't asked you to stop?" Yu grinned weakly, and they headed out together. Soon, only Minako and Akihiko remained behind.

"Thanks for having my back," she said, smiling faintly.

"Like I'd trust it to anyone else?" he asked, snorting.

"True, you were always ridiculously overprotective."

"That was not what I meant."

"It's definitely what it sounded like though." He laughed, shaking his head slightly.

"You're so frustrating sometimes," he said.

"Yeah, but that's why you love me." The words slipped out before Minako could think about what she was saying, but as soon as she was finished Minako went very pale. "Aki, I'm sorry I-"

"It's fine," he assured her, "Don't worry about it."

"No, it's not fine," she said, shaking her head fiercely. "I've been gone two years, Aki. That's a really long time; I shouldn't say stuff like that, it's not fair of me."

"It's not wrong either," he said.

"Aki…" she stopped, the words unsaid hanging between them in the silent room. She was trembling, every inch of her body on edge and eyes wide with – with what? Fear? Trepidation?

When he leant in towards her, Minako closed her eyes. She felt his lips brush against hers and she leant into him as his hand cupped the back of her neck. She rose to her feet, her hand moving to touch his cheek, feeling the thin layer of stubble brush the tips of her fingers.

"Aki," she whispered, breaking the contact and leaning against him. "You know I can't stay. This will just make it harder when…"

"We just have to keep looking," he said roughly. "We'll find a way to keep you here. And… well, even if we don't it's going to hurt letting you go Minako. Whatever we do now, that won't change."

"So we just pretend I was never gone? Act like nothing changed?"

"No. We just live, Minako. We live and we fight, like we always did. Can you do that?"

"For you?"

"Not for me," he took her hand, pressing it against her chest. "That's _your _heartbeat Minako. Live for yourself, and fight because you want to. Can you do that?"

"I…" she stopped, looking into his eyes as he looked down at her. She nodded. "I think so."

* * *

"You want a lift back?" Dojima asked, hitching the still sleeping Nanako a little higher in his arms.

"We're all staying here tonight," Yu replied. "I already asked Yukiko if Nanako can stay. I imagine she probably doesn't want to be alone at the moment."

"Yeah, thanks," Dojima sighed with relief. "Yu…" he began, stopping and turning to face his nephew. "I'm really proud of you. What you did back there…" he shook his head, "That was _amazing_. Do your parents know?"

"Not yet, but I'll call them and give them some warning before the conference."

"That'll be an interesting conversation," Dojima laughed. Then his face grew sombre. "This is real life and death stuff, eh?"

"Yeah."

"Have any of you ever?"

"None of the Investigation Team's ever been really _seriously_ hurt – nothing we couldn't heal ourselves anyway, for the most part."

"All those bruises," Dojima sighed. "I just thought you were getting into fights."

"Fights?!"

"Well you were hanging around with Kanji Tatsumi."

Yu snorted.

"Well, make sure to be careful."

"We always are."

* * *

"Has anyone seen Akihiko?" Mitsuru asked. She was pacing – actually _pacing_ – the length of the table Yukiko had put at the head of the largest conference room, and her eyes were like steel. "The conference is due to start in ten minutes."

"Try Mina's room," Shinji grunted.

"Meaning?"

"He didn't come back to our room last night Mitsuru-senpai," Junpei explained, "And given that Minako-chin is yet to show either…" he let the sentence hang as Mitsuru registered the meaning behind his words.

"Ah," she said. "Well either way I need them both down here pronto."

"I ain't interrupting them," Junpei said hurriedly, throwing his hands in the air. At that moment, however, Minako arrived, sliding the last grip into her hair and seemingly oblivious to the discussion she'd walked in on.

"What?" she asked, looking around at the staring faces.

"Nothing," Junpei said, a little too quickly. Minako looked at him, raised an eyebrow and muttered, "Babies."

She headed over to the table, spotting name cards in front of each of the seats. She was sat in the centre, Yu on her left, Mitsuru on her right. To Yu's left, the name cards identified the seats as belonging to the Investigation Team, with SEES to Mitsuru's right.

"We need to clear the room guys," Rise said, popping her head around the door. "Dojima's gonna get the reporters settled and then we enter."

They headed into the opposite corridor, where Mitsuru resumed her pacing. "This is everyone's last chance to step back from this," she warned them. "When those doors open, you will forever be linked with what happens here today. Any chance of a normal life will be gone, quite possibly permanently."

"We all signed up to that when we first summoned our personas," Junpei said with a shrug, "I figure I might as well be famous into the bargain." Beyond him, Shinjiro remained silent and Akihiko shrugged, "I'm already associated anyway. And it's likely whoever recorded the footage of Minako and me must have seen both you," he nodded at Mitsuru, "and Yukari during the dark hour. I think it's safe to say that SEES is fully compromised."

"And the Investigation Team?"

"I doubt Yu's uncle can keep the entirety of the police force from blabbing," Yosuke said, shrugging, "Especially given as one of the weird kids with the magic powers was _Risette_. That's half of us right there."

"And as a group we associate too often for the links not to be at the very least suspected," Naoto said matter-of-factly. "At this point, I think it's too late for anyone to back out."

"Very well then." Mitsuru peered in through the tiny gap she'd left in the door. "It's time."

They filed in one at a time and as they moved to take their seats camera flashes went off all over the room. As per Rise's request no questions were asked yet.

"I think it best we start with introductions," Mitsuru said after a moment, "Although some of us are already known – at least in Japan – others are not. We'll start at one end of the table, and move across."

She looked across Minako to the end of the table, where Shinjiro slouched. "Shinjiro Aragaki," he grunted. "Been fighting shadows maybe five years now. My persona's called Castor."

"Akihiko Sanada. I joined up with Shinji and my persona is Caesar."

"Junpei Iori, Trismegistus," For all his bravado, Junpei seemed nervous now that he was actually sitting in front of the reporters, fidgeting in his seat and not meeting anyone's eyes.

"Ken Amada. I've been fighting just under two years now, and my persona is Kala-Nemi."

"I'm F-Fuuka Yamagishi. I don't actually fight, but I have a support persona – Juno."

"My name is Aigis, and my persona is called Athena."

"Umm, well I imagine some of you know me already," she shifted slightly in her chair. "I'm Yukari Takeba, and my persona's called Isis."

"I am Mitsuru Kirijo, leader of the Kirijo corporation. I have been fighting shadows for approximately six years, and my persona is Artemisia."

"Umm," Minako's mouth felt very dry. It was odd to have so many people looking at her, expecting her to talk about something that had been a secret for almost as long as she could remember. "I'm Minako Arisato. I only started fighting the shadows about two years ago, but I've known about them almost twelve years now."

"Yu Narukami."

"Well everyone here in Japan knows me as Risette already, but I'm Rise Kujikawa. My persona – Kouzeon – is like Fuuka's. I don't fight, but I can help those who do."

"I'm Yukiko Amagi, and my persona's Sume-Omikami."

"Chie Satonaka, Haraedo-no-Okami," Chie, like Junpei, seemed unusually subdued.

"My name is Naoto Shiragane, and I fight with the help of Yamato Sumeragi." Naoto, more used to this kind of situation than many of the others, spoke clearly and firmly in a voice that carried easily through the large room.

"Uhh… Kanji Tatsumi, and my persona's called Takeji Zaiten."

"I'm Yosuke Hanamura. My persona's called Takehaya Susano-o."

"And my name's Teddie! I have the beary best persona, Kamui-Moshiri!"

"We would like to begin," Mitsuru then went on, "With a brief statement regarding the Dark Hour, what it means and what we can theorise from it's return." She outlined, briefly, what had caused the Dark Hour twelve years previously, and how it had eventually been stopped with the defeat of Nyx at the top of the construct Tartarus.

"Now," she said finally, "We will take some questions."

Instantly, hands shot in the air and voices shouted out.

"One at a time!" Rise shouted over the top of them, scowling slightly. "You." She pointed at a young reporter in the second row.

"Miss Kirijo, you claim the Dark Hour existed for almost ten years. If this is true then how come it has never been reported before now?"

"In previous years, nearly the entirety of humanity was transmogrified for the duration of the Dark Hour," she replied, "Those who were conscious were the minority, and those who could survive alone in the Dark Hour were a smaller group still. I've seen reports of Transmogrification last night. We are working to explain why so many people were conscious this time."

The reporters scribbled down her words and Rise selected the next question.

"A question for Mr Narukami. You didn't name your persona?"

"Minako and I are slightly different to the others," he said after a moment. "We've come to call it the Wild Card ability."

"It means we can summon multiple personae," Minako explained, "Of many different arcanas, rather than just a single persona of our own arcana – in our case, the fool."

"So you can create more persona than the one we saw in the footage from this morning?"

"Yes. That was Helel, my strongest persona of the star arcana. Currently, I hold Helel, Norn, Odin, Thanatos, Messiah and Orpheus Telos. Orpheus Telos is my true persona." She looked at Yu, who then supplied his own list of personae.

"I have Loki, Ishtar, Mahakala, Kaguya and two variations on Izanagi – Mugatsu-Izanagi and Izanagi-no-Okami."

"Is one of those your true persona?"

"Izanagi-no-Okami."

"These shadows, will they come again?"

"We're searching for them near constantly," Mitsuru said, "We've got Kirijo scientists scanning the entirety of Japan and we're looking into ways to expand this globally. Until the Dark Hour stops, we will do our best to keep people safe."

"I would suggest that people stay inside during the Dark Hour," Naoto said. "Lock the doors and wait it out. Some of the shadows are very strong."

"Are persona users particularly common?"

"Well this is all we have," Yosuke laughed.

"In the past twelve years I have known of only four other persona users," Mitsuru said. "Three of those were induced into the ability, and it left them unhealthy and unstable."

"The fourth was a lunatic," Yosuke added helpfully.

"And there's Koro-chan as well," Ken said.

"Koro-chan?" a reporter asked.

"He's a dog."

"A… dog?"

There was another explosion of questions, which Rise put a stop to fairly quickly with a dark look, eventually selecting one of the quieter journalists to ask the next question.

"What is the purpose of the guns?"

Mitsuru took the question, explaining the link between personas and self-preservation.

"When you mentioned arcana, did you mean the tarot arcana?"

"Yes," Minako began, "Each person has their own arcana…"

"Everyone has two, actually," Yukiko interrupted, "I looked it up when you mentioned Sanada and Aragaki having different arcana links than they did persona. Everyone has two arcana, so it makes sense that maybe they summon a persona of their true arcana, and you linked with their secondary arcana."

"That's interesting," Minako mused, "It would explain why Aigis was aeon with a chariot persona as well."

"What do you mean by links?" one reporter asked. Yu and Minako worked together to brush that question off – explaining it to their closest friends had been _one _thing.

"Miss Arisato, how do you respond to the reports of your death two years ago?"

Minako hesitated a moment. She'd been waiting for that question – dreading it, and knowing it was inevitable.

"That is a highly sensitive topic-" Mitsuru began.

"It's fine," Minako interrupted. "I can talk about it."

So that's what she did. She laid it all out to the reporters – to their flashing cameras, and to the larger satellite cameras that were probably transmitting her words worldwide even as she spoke. She told them about what it had taken to fight Nyx, to beat her back.

She didn't mention what it had been like, living as the seal. She glossed over the harder truths, and the stark reality. She told them a softer tale, of exhaustion and warmth. Of being in the arms of the man she loved and closing her eyes one last time.

She told them an abridged version of her return, and what it meant for the seal, linking back to what Mitsuru had already said. And then she was silent, and a weight seemed gone from her shoulders. It had felt good simply to talk to someone who didn't know the truth, didn't spend every second agonising over what might happen in ten days time.

She felt as though by talking, she had released some of the tension from her muscles. She took a deep breath and she smiled. She felt properly herself for the first time since she'd died on that rooftop two years ago.

"Can you describe the seal to us?" one journalist shouted over the hubbub of general noise.

"She's said enough," Akihiko replied acidly, his first words since his introduction right at the beginning of the conference.

"I won't talk about the seal," Minako said after a moment, "But there is something I do want to say – to the people who knew me before, during my time in Iwatodai and earlier. I'm sorry I couldn't let you know I was back. I'm sorry I couldn't come see you, talk with you or laugh with you like we used to." She closed her eyes, thinking back on the days she spent on Port Island – despite everything else, they had been the best days of her life and looking back upon them Minako felt herself smile, felt the warmth within her chest blossom and grow. "I'm going to try my hardest to stick around this time. I promise."

Across the table, the members of SEES straightened. Some smiled, some laughed and Fuuka burst into tears. The Investigation Team also seemed relieved – they did not know Minako nearly as well as the others, but that didn't mean they were heartless. Each and every one of them knew they'd react just the same if Yu had done what Minako did two years ago.

"Geez you guys, this is getting really soppy." A figure in the front row that none of them had noticed stood up, striding to the front of the room. She stopped in front of Yu and looked down at him with raised eyebrows. "Letting the secret out? Really sloppy work, I'm actually kinda disappointed."

"Umm… Marie, not that I'm not glad to see you and all," Yu said after a moment, "But what are you doing?"

"I'm here to answer the questions you can't," she replied.

"But… why would you let on you're involved?" Yosuke asked.

"It's fine. They won't remember. Master of the fog remember?"

"Oh right."

"I don't suppose you could use the fog to make the entire world forget this stuff?" Chie asked a little hopefully.

"I could," Marie replied after a moment.

"But you're not going to?" Yu guessed.

"Absolutely not. Not when humanity is _finally_ starting to see. She turned to face the crowd. My name," she began, "Is Izanami-no-Mikoto."

That prompted a reaction. Questions from every corner, confusion and shouting rife – until Marie held up a hand. "Over the last year, broken parts of me wreaked havoc across Inaba, spreading fog and uncertainty into people's lives. With the help of my friends," she smiled warmly at the investigation team, "That was put to a stop and I was left whole, in control of my own destiny once again."

She took a deep breath and went on. "When they stood up to me, they stood up for all of humanity – they refused to be fed the easy lie, digging until they uncovered the irrefutable truths of the situation. In doing so, they dispelled the fog and gave humanity this moment, this choice. Because of their actions, far more people now see the truth of Nyx and the Dark Hour. No longer will humanity be content with explanations such as Apathy Syndrome, or end of the world cults. What happens now must be transparent, because at last people are _ready_ to believe.

"The question now is – are you going to waste that opportunity, or will you embrace it? Because this is the only chance you'll get. A tipping point is coming. Make sure you make the right decision. Lastly, I want to make a request. All of you out there with the potential - those of you who have your own personas, who've fought shadows in the past. Look at these people here with me. They are fighting the same fight you did. They are waging that same war, and they will need your help. I don't mean fly to Japan and rush to Inaba. Be ready, protect those you love. When the time comes, these guys are gonna need your support."

And she was gone, as simple as that.

* * *

**Marie FINALLY makes an appearance. She took her sweet time!**

**Regarding the 'other' persona users mentioned by Marie. They are not all characters from P1 and P2. I have not played personas 1 and 2 (well, I'm part way through the first one) so characters from those games will likely only get cameo mentions _if at all_ given as I'm unsure who lives/dies whatever (please no spoilers). If I finish the first game by the time I get to that point then who knows, but honestly I can't see it happening - I'm finding it dreadfully repetitive and even despite being a ridiculous completionist (seriously, to the extent of 'all quests, all trophies, all personas') I am struggling.**


End file.
